Barcelona’s efforts to curb the proliferation of tourist apartments face new challenges. Analysis by the Federación de Asociaciones Vecinales de Barcelona (FAVB) finds a sharp concentration of legal tourist rentals in basic districts. Eixample alone accounts for nearly half of the city’s 10,730 licensed tourist apartments, with one building on Carrer de Tarragona housing a record 92 units. Gràcia and Sants-Montjuïc also have impressive numbers. Ciutat Vella, despite its central location and early activism against tourist rentals, has fewer than expected.
FAVB’s findings come as the city prepares to phase out licensed tourist apartments. In June 2024, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni announced that the city would not renew 10,101 tourist-flat permits when they expire in November 2028, with the aim of returning the homes to the long-term housing market. That 10,101 figure is the policy baseline cited for the phase-out; FAVB’s 10,730 total is a separate count of licensed apartments. The measure does not immediately cancel existing authorizations: eligible apartments may continue operating under their current permits until they expire.
The policy falls under Catalonia’s Decree-Law 3/2023. Barcelona’s moratorium on new tourist-flat licenses began in 2014 and was formalized in the Barcelona Official Gazette on 2 July 2015. Since the 2015 freeze, but, Barcelona has added 1,325 tourist apartments, information from the FAVB analysis. Brief legal openings, sometimes lasting only hours, allowed owners to secure permits before restrictions took full effect. More than 3,500 apartments had already left the short-term-rental market before the 2028 deadline, according to reporting on the phase-out.
The distribution of tourist apartments is far from uniform. In 2,643 buildings, the tourist apartment is the building’s only such rental; other properties have become hubs for short-term stays. FAVB reports that 178 buildings contain between 10 and 19 tourist apartments. Another 35 have between 20 and 29. At the upper end, 19 buildings each hold more than 30 licenses. Dreta de l’Eixample leads with 16.8% of all tourist apartments. Sagrada Família follows; Gràcia and Antiga Esquerra de l’Eixample also rank among the leading districts, along with Sant Antoni and Poble-sec.
FAVB leaders Miquel Borràs and Jaume Artigues warn that property owners may try to use a clause in the Generalitat’s decree to extend their licenses beyond 2028. Owners could potentially continue operating for up to five additional years by investing in their properties and demonstrating that they have not recouped their costs. The city government, led by the PSC, has said it will not allow such extensions and aims to return about 10,000 apartments to residential use. On 14 March 2025, Spain’s Constitutional Court upheld the phase-out, rejecting property owners’ challenges to the measure.
The planned withdrawal applies to tourist-apartment permits, not every form of short-term accommodation: hotels and other legally permitted categories are not automatically covered. A separate national requirement took effect on 1 July 2025, requiring short-term rentals to display a Unique Registration Number. That number does not replace Barcelona’s municipal authorization or extend a HUT permit beyond its expiry date. Visitors can check a property’s municipal tourist license through Barcelona’s fairtourism.barcelona verification service.
FAVB is also concerned about the concentration of multiple licenses in single buildings, which could later be converted into student residences. The organization is calling for stricter inspections and rigorous enforcement of existing regulations to prevent such strategies from undermining the city’s housing goals. The city’s freeze has kept the legal market within a fixed pool of authorizations, making oversight of existing licenses and any claimed extensions basic to the transition.
The debate over tourist apartments in Barcelona reflects broader concerns about the impact of short-term rentals on urban life and housing affordability. Neighborhood stability is another concern. The city’s approach is being closely watched across Spain, where other regions face similar pressures. Barcelona’s policy differs from annual-night limits used elsewhere in Europe: it is designed to withdraw apartment permits as they expire rather than simply cap the number of nights a licensed home can be rented.
Barcelona’s tourist rental market has long been a flashpoint, with residents and local groups citing rising rents and changing neighborhood dynamics. The planned phase-out of more than 10,000 licensed tourist apartments by November 2028 is a major housing intervention. Legal challenges and potential claims for extensions could complicate implementation; concentrated ownership patterns add another obstacle. As the deadline approaches, the effectiveness of enforcement and the city’s ability to return homes to the residential market will be a basic test for urban policy in Spain. Recent scrutiny of data reliability in other sectors, including the unexpected surge in TVE morning show ratings, highlights the importance of transparency and oversight in public policy decisions.
