A sector body announced on Tuesday that owners of tourist apartments in Barcelona demand compensation in excess of 4.2 billion euro (USD 4.4 billion). This is due to plans to eliminate such accommodation by the year 2029.
Barcelona is the focus of growing concerns about over-tourism, as Spain is the second most visited country in the world. Locals are angry that short-term rentals by visitors have made housing unaffordable.
Barcelona’s socialist Mayor Jaume Collboni declared in June that he would do away with the tourist apartments. This will be done by not renewing or issuing new licences when the existing permits expires by November 2028.
Apartur, a group that represents management companies and owners of tourist apartments, called the measure in a press release “a covert confiscation”. The claims were made to the government in the northeastern Catalonia Region, whose capitol is Barcelona. It added that the apartments involved are 7,200.
Apartur said that the money demanded was based on investments and spending made by the owners in the previous five years as well as their expected return if they continued to operate. Apartur can take legal action if the regional government does not respond to the request within six months.
Collboni’s plan was announced in accordance with a decree that was approved last year by Catalan regional authorities, which regulates the amount of tourist apartments within municipalities experiencing the most housing market stress. Owners of the apartments have reacted violently and claim that the 10,000 tourist units represent only 1% Barcelona’s housing stock.
In a statement, Apartur President Enrique Alcantara stated that: “Regulated Tourist Apartments are not the cause for the housing crisis and their elimination will NOT guarantee they become residential homes.”
According to municipal estimates the lucrative tourism sector represents around 13 per cent of Spain’s GDP. Barcelona receives approximately 170,000 visitors every day. It has also raised concerns about the need to meet the needs of the locals. Protests against the unbridled tourism expansion have taken place across the country.
