The number of homes advertised for short-term holiday rental in Spain has fallen sharply over the past year, following a reform of the law governing apartment buildings and the creation of a single national registry.
The figures
- May 2026: around 341,000 homes listed on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.
- May 2025: around 382,000 — the peak.
- Fall: about 40,000 listings in a year, or 10.7%.
By November 2025 the number had already dropped below 330,000, a loss of more than 50,000 listings in six months, although it has partly recovered since with the summer season.
Why it has fallen
Community approval. Since 3 April 2025, owners who want to start renting a flat to tourists need the approval of their building’s community of owners, by a three-fifths majority. Communities can also set higher service charges for tourist flats. The rule mainly affects new rentals; existing ones can generally continue.
The single registry. From 2025, every home advertised for short-term rental has needed a registration number from a national registry, and platforms have had to remove adverts without one. The aim was to identify illegal listings and share information between owners, platforms and authorities. The Supreme Court has since annulled part of the system because it overlapped with regional powers, leaving the regions with a greater role, but the obligations to share data remain.
Incentives to switch to long-term rental
The State Housing Plan 2026–2030 includes measures to encourage owners to move homes from the tourist market to long-term rental:
- funding for regional governments to buy homes and take them off the short-term market;
- aid of up to €50,400 for owners who hand over a property to public management for seven years. The administration rents it out, pays the income to the owner and returns the home in good condition at the end.
The Balearic picture
The Balearics were already among the regions with the strictest rules on holiday rentals, with zoning, limits on new licences and a ban on new tourist flats in apartment blocks in Palma. Illegal listings remain a concern, and the regional authorities have stepped up inspections and fines.
Will it ease the housing crisis?
Supporters say fewer tourist flats means more homes for residents and less pressure on prices. The rental industry argues that holiday lets account for a small share of the housing stock and that the real problem is a lack of new building. Not every flat that disappears from the platforms will end up as a long-term rental: some may be left empty, sold or rented illegally. The coming years will show how much of the fall translates into homes for local people.
