Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal hit tourists with new crackdown rules

Some of Britain's favourite holiday spots are cracking down on unlawful tourist flats in an effort to tackle overtourism. Spain has joined the likes of Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Greece in clamping down on unlicensed properties.

The issue with these illegal holiday rentals is not new, as evidenced by last summer's overtourism protests across Spain. Locals blame these apartments for the housing crisis, with rental prices skyrocketing and local housing availability dwindling. In Majorca, many locals are already despairing over the state of the housing market, with prices surging by another 15% in just the past year.

In a bid to address the problem, authorities in Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Greece are ramping up inspections, implementing new licensing systems, and demanding more cooperation from booking platforms.

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Despite earlier warnings of hefty fines this year, a Spanish government report claimed that there are still 7,000 holiday flats being rented out illegally in the Balearic Islands.

It is hoped that this stringent crackdown will create a fairer market for legal operators and safeguard communities.

Authorities in these popular holiday destinations say their message is clear: tourists are welcome, but only if they abide by the law and respect the locals.

The housing crisis in Spain has reached such a critical point that it's been labelled a "social emergency" by the Spanish government. They estimate that between 600,000 and a million new homes need to be built within the next four years to meet the demand.

The cost-of-living crisis is also hitting hard, with one in three Spaniards confessing they can't afford a week-long holiday, as per the National Statistics Institute.

Barcelona is at the forefront with stringent rules on clamping down on holiday lets. The city is currently in the process of phasing out tourist apartments, with a goal to eradicate all licensed short-term rentals by 2028.

Mayor Jaume Collboni has declared that the City Council will not renew any licences for tourist-use flats once they expire in November 2028.

Spain is by far the most popular country among UK travellers, with close to 18 million of us visiting in 2023 — far more than the 9.2 million who took a trip to second-place France.

While it would be absurd to suggest that the country's love affair with Spain and its incredible culture, food and drink, spectacular weather, and general good vibes is over, there is undeniably a groundswell of frustration at a shift in attitude on the Iberian Peninsula.