In recent months, the number of apartments rented out to tourists in Madrid has decreased. According to official data, since July of last year, their number has dropped by almost three thousand—from 16,959 to 14,297. City authorities attribute this to a new urban plan that limits the placement of such rentals in residential buildings in the historic center.
The main change is that apartments can no longer be rented to tourists if permanent residents live in the building. Officials claim this helps protect the interests of locals and prevents the center from turning entirely into hotels. However, despite these restrictions, most such rentals still operate without official permits. Only 94 fines were issued last year, and just over a thousand listings are legal.
Opposition parties believe the city government is exaggerating its achievements. They argue that the decline in listings is not only due to new local rules, but also federal initiatives. For instance, last summer a nationwide digital registry was introduced, and now platforms like Airbnb can only advertise apartments that have been officially registered. This automatically removed many illegal listings from the search results.
In addition, the opposition points out that despite the decrease, the number of tourist apartments in Madrid still far exceeds the figures from six years ago. During this period, about 11,000 more have appeared. Critics argue that the city administration has not taken sufficient measures to control the situation, and the widespread growth of short-term rentals continues to affect housing availability for local residents.
As a result, even though statistics show a drop in the number of tourist apartments, the issue remains relevant. The debate over how to balance the interests of the tourism sector and city residents is ongoing. Madrid is searching for solutions, but for now, there is no clear answer.
