Spanish court rejects Airbnb appeal and keeps order to block nearly 66,000 listings
MADRID — A Spanish court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Airbnb and left in place an order to block almost 66,000 rental listings that the government said violated local rules.
The government has said the platform's short-term rentals exacerbate Spain's housing crunch while the country welcomes record numbers of tourists.
Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to block 65,935 listings in the country after the Consumer Rights Ministry flagged them for violations. It said Airbnb had to immediately take down 5,800.
An Airbnb spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment on the Madrid's High Court's decision.
The ministry has said the listings it flagged did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. It said others listed numbers that didn't match what authorities had.
Last month, Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press that the tourism sector could not 'jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,' including their right to housing and well-being.
Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government had to tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism.
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CTV News
11 hours ago
- CTV News
Spanish court rejects Airbnb appeal and keeps order to block nearly 66,000 listings
MADRID — A Spanish court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Airbnb and left in place an order to block almost 66,000 rental listings that the government said violated local rules. The government has said the platform's short-term rentals exacerbate Spain's housing crunch while the country welcomes record numbers of tourists. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to block 65,935 listings in the country after the Consumer Rights Ministry flagged them for violations. It said Airbnb had to immediately take down 5,800. An Airbnb spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment on the Madrid's High Court's decision. The ministry has said the listings it flagged did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. It said others listed numbers that didn't match what authorities had. Last month, Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press that the tourism sector could not 'jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,' including their right to housing and well-being. Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government had to tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism.
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spanish court rejects Airbnb appeal and keeps order to block nearly 66,000 listings
MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Airbnb and left in place an order to block almost 66,000 rental listings that the government said violated local rules. The government has said the platform's short-term rentals exacerbate Spain's housing crunch while the country welcomes record numbers of tourists. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to block 65,935 listings in the country after the Consumer Rights Ministry flagged them for violations. It said Airbnb had to immediately take down 5,800. An Airbnb spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment on the Madrid's High Court's decision. The ministry has said the listings it flagged did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. It said others listed numbers that didn't match what authorities had. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Last month, Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press that the tourism sector could not 'jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,' including their right to housing and well-being. Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government had to tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism.
The Province
2 days ago
- The Province
Airbnb hosts in B.C. say booking platform jumping the gun with cancellations
Last week, the platform said it may cancel thousands of bookings and blamed how government rolled out B.C.'s new registry Dianne Donohue's in one of the rooms she rents out through Airbnb at her home in Victoria. Photo by ADRIAN LAM / TIMES COLONIST Victoria resident Dianne Donohue was checking her messages last week when she got a note from one of her Airbnb guests telling her that the online platform had reached out to guests recommending they cancel their stay. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The reason was that Donohue was not in compliance with the province's new registration system and the platform would be forced to cancel her listing if she did not have a valid registration number issued by June 23. In a panic, the host said she called both Airbnb and Vrbo. She later realized that she had filled out the provincial registration form improperly. She had said her property was not her principal residence and that it was available for 30-day rentals instead of for daily bookings. While she rents out her laneway house for a 30-day minimum, two rooms in her house are rented out as daily short-term rentals. After Donohue sent what she estimates were 15 emails to the government, an official got back to her and walked her through how to redo the application. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'By the next morning, she had taken care of it, passed it on to who needed to approve it. It was done literally within hours,' Donohue told Postmedia on Monday. Dianne Donohue's Airbnb at 251 Superior Street in Victoria. Photo by ADRIAN LAM / TIMES COLONIST Not everyone has been so lucky. Airbnb estimates it has started cancelling thousands of bookings in the lead-up to the official deadline of June 23 for hosts to register their listings with the provincial government. The registry is meant to ensure all listings and hosts are in compliance with provincial laws that restrict short-term rentals in most communities to people's primary residences and an additional units on the same property. However, the rollout of the new registry has been anything but smooth, according to Airbnb. Alex Howell, Airbnb's Canadian policy lead, said the problem is that listings in full compliance with provincial laws are being rejected by the registration system for simple discrepancies such as formatting errors in addresses. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Howell said there is no flexibility within the province's laws governing short-term rentals and the government only allowed a month for Airbnb and other platforms to test the registry system before the June 23 deadline. 'The reality is a system like this is incredibly complicated. It requires two separate databases to talk to each other. Something like that typically requires three to six months of pretty intense testing in a live environment,' said Howell. 'We have been telling them for months to slow down, and they have just failed to listen. And so we are now in the situation where we're playing whack-a-mole, trying to address these issues as they crop up.' Airbnb said that while they have helped thousands of hosts experiencing technical issues, between 600 to 800 are still experiencing difficulties. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. One host, Jonathan Rossouw, told Postmedia his application with the City of Victoria was denied because he had a car that was still registered at his old home with his ex-wife. He said they separated several years ago and no longer live together but that was enough to get his registration rejected. He said he simply wants to be able to rent out his condo, which is his primary residence, when he is out of town for work. 'It took about two months for them to get back to me, or even more, three months almost,' said Rossouw. 'They said it might take one to two months, possibly three months for the appeal. I was like, OK, well, then it's the end of the year, and then you got to re-register.' City of Victoria spokesperson Colleen Mycroft said the city couldn't comment on Rossouw's specific case but that it had approved roughly 80 per cent of registrations. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While Airbnb is pointing the finger at the province for the difficulties, Donohue blames Airbnb, stating that it should have contacted her, instead of her would-be guest, about potential cancellations. She also said that while the provincial government was helpful in addressing her concerns, Airbnb has just been going around pulling properties off the site. 'It's Airbnb that is going to come into compliance with what the government wants,' said Donohue. 'I think the government program has its inefficiencies, but Airbnb is being really aggressive, removing people's listings ahead of time, because the province has given people until June 23 to actually have everything registered, whereas Airbnb is starting to rip people's listings now.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Salmon Arm resident Jen Chang also blamed Airbnb, saying she had registered as soon as she could in February and received a tentative number from the province pending an official review. Despite this, she said she has been getting emails every week from Airbnb telling her that her house number didn't match the address on her registration and that the listing would be taken down without fixing it. She said she made the required changed but her property was removed anyways. As of Tuesday afternoon, it was back with no explanation. She said the platform tried to tell her she had taken it down herself. 'Airbnb, it's like a game for them, they're not working with us. They're just saying you need to complain. It's like they want to cause a kerfuffle,' said Chang. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's like every week I get an email from Airbnb telling me I need to complain to my MLAs. I need to rectify this issue, I'm just kind of done with it.' Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon told Postmedia that the province has created a system that allows for registrations to be fixed on the back end if there are any discrepancies such as mis-formatted addresses. He said Airbnb is instead using its hosts as 'a tool' in its efforts to get the province to back down on its short-term restrictions. 'Clearly Airbnb is looking using opportunities to put their hosts under stress because they have a greater motive, which is to get rid of the reforms that we've brought around short-term rentals,' the housing minister said in an interview. 'I'm not surprised, they are hiring very highly paid lobbyists to go out and try to make the case for why these rules can't be in place.' Read More Vancouver Canucks Sports Local News Local News Vancouver Canucks
