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Local Spain
3 days ago
- Health
- Local Spain
Spain to allow support dogs access to all public spaces
The Spanish cabinet has approved a decree pushed by the Ministry of Social Rights that guarantees disabled people with support dogs access to public and private spaces anywhere in Spain. The idea complements existing legislation at the regional level and seeks to eliminate any disparities that affect the rights of both disabled people and animals. For the Ministry, the older rules were predicated on an outdated definition of disability. 'It only considered visual disability; now it extends to all types of disability,' said the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy. Reporting from Spanish daily El País says the change is 'aimed at people with disabilities, also those with autism spectrum disorder, pathologies that cause recurrent crises involving sensory disconnection and women who are victims of gender and sexual violence.' In terms of disabilities, the expansion will allow those with hearing impairment, deafness and blindness who need trained dogs, as well as those with physical disabilities who need them for physical support in their daily lives, to take the support animals with them wherever they go. The dogs must carry an identification tag which gives them and the owner access to all public spaces, regardless of where in Spain they are. This includes all educational, cultural, sports and health centres, except operating theatres and other areas where special hygienic conditions must be met. They will also be able to enter retail establishments such as supermarkets, markets and food shops, as well as tourist accommodation, hotels and restaurants, museums and theatres. Access will be allowed to beaches, recreational areas, swimming pools and water parks, as long as the animal does not enter the water. As for women who are victims of gender and sexual violence, the Ministry of Social Rights said in a statement that assistance dogs are allowed access to shelters and care centres. The decree not only expands rights for the disabled but also the welfare of support dogs themselves, guaranteeing their right to retirement, as they will be able to stop providing service when they reach 10 years old, according to the changes. The new regulations also address the training that support animals must receive. Training must be given by accredited or officially recognised trainers in the socialisation and training of support dogs, whether they belong to organisations or are specialised self-employed professionals.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Cities turned into theme parks': Why Airbnb is facing trouble in Spain
With its enviable climate, food and architecture, Spain pulled in 98 million visitors in 2024 — making it the world's second most-visited country after France. But that popularity comes with an unenviable side effect. A surge in homes being listed on platforms like Airbnb means Spain's main urban centers like Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are now in the grip of a housing rental crisis that has, in recent months, become Spaniards' primary worry, according to the Spanish Center for Sociological Research. Now that anxiety has triggered an official backlash. Earlier this month, Spain's Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda Ministry demanded the removal of nearly 66,000 property rental listings on Airbnb, saying they contravene tourist accommodation regulations. While Airbnb is appealing the move, it can't come soon enough for some in Spain who say their lives have been blighted by the lack of affordable living accommodation. 'Not being able to afford the purchase or even just the rent of a decent apartment for oneself is devastating for the dignity of working people,' Madrid resident Enrico Congiu told CNN. The 40-year-old works as a family doctor and shares an apartment with two other people the same age close to the capital's downtown. Barcelona-based Raquel Pérez, 41, is another young professional who says she feels trapped by a housing shortage she says can only be alleviated by restrictions on holiday lets. 'Currently, it is almost impossible to rent an apartment in Barcelona', she told CNN. 'And we Barcelonans find ourselves having to share an apartment at the age of 40, or having to move to neighboring cities.' She added: 'I am in favor of eliminating the licenses for tourist apartments and converting them into long-term rental contracts. In fact, I would bring this measure forward to 2026.' The price per square meter of house rentals has risen 85% nationwide in Spain over the last decade, according to data from the real estate website Idealista, with tourism and seasonal rentals viewed as key inflationary drivers. There are 400,000 tourist-use housing units in Spain, according to the latest data from the Spanish Statistical Office. The Bank of Spain estimates the country's housing deficit to be between 400,000 and 450,000 dwellings — figures that appear to have spurred the government into action against the rentals it deems are in breach of regulations. 'Behind each of the 65,000 property listings there used to be homes for families, workers, students, who today are expelled from their neighborhoods and see how their cities are turned into theme parks for the excessive profit of a few investment funds and big companies,' Pablo Bustinduy, Spain's minister for social rights, consumer affairs and 2030 agenda said on Sunday. Most of the targeted listings violated existing rules by not providing a license number, providing a wrong one or not indicating the legal nature of the owner, according to the ministry. A request that has been backed by Madrid's High Court has ordered rental platform Airbnb to immediately withdraw 5,800 property rental listings identified by the ministry located in regions like Andalucia, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the Basque Country. Asked about the move, Airbnb told CNN that it will continue to appeal all decisions affecting this case. It also accused the ministry of 'using an indiscriminate methodology' to single out rental properties that Airbnb says do not actually need a license. Airbnb pointed out that it is already working with the governments of the Canary Islands, Murcia and Ibiza to pursue illegal listings. The national government isn't the only Spanish authority tackling the issue. Barcelona City Council announced in June 2024 that it will not renew housing licenses for tourist apartments after 2028. That means that more than 10,000 tourist apartments will have to be made available for locals to rent or purchase. The move has upset some property owners, with the Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona (Asociación de Apartamentos Turísticos de Barcelona) demanding more than $4.4 million as compensation for about 7,200 apartments affected by this measure. And not everyone is convinced it will tip the balance in favor of those struggling to find long-term accommodation. 'More affordable housing and better regulation would be needed,' Xavier Solé, a Barcelona resident, told CNN. Some tourists, meanwhile, say they agree with a clampdown on Airbnb-style rentals, even if they find them a preferable option. Lara Sorbili, who recently visited Madrid from Buenos Aires, told CNN that she agreed with any efforts to help reduce rental prices for locals, but still chooses Airbnbs where possible. 'I find it to be more convenient as I can have a kitchen, refrigerator… it's much more comfortable,' Sorbili told CNN. 'It also reduces the cost for a family trip if I travel with my children.' Deborah Murphy, who flew from Ireland to spend time in the Spanish capital, added that new measures were 'probably for the best.' 'There are so many hotels already available, then you take housing away from people who could live there, instead of tourists who come for a few days and add nothing to the economy.'
Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Spain has banned some Airbnbs. This is why they're right to do so
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition — least of all, it seems, the nation's Airbnb proprietors. The news last week that the left-wing government had demanded the immediate removal of 66,000 short-term rental properties from the website was met by a stunned silence, but the landlords really should have seen it coming. The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 — a Spanish government department similar to the UK's now defunct Office of Fair Trading — says many of the properties in question have been deemed illegal because their listings do not show a licence or registration number. Others because the licence number doesn't correspond with official records and some because it's not clear whether the owner is an individual or a corporation. Three warnings were sent to Airbnb before the axe came down, with Pablo Bustinduy the minister wielding it. Formerly a professor of philosophy at the State University of New York, he returned to Spain in May 2011 to participate in the widespread protests against austerity, corruption and inequality that spawned the 15-M movement. He then joined Podemos: a party founded on the principle that all wealth was subordinate to the needs of the people. Accepting his current role in November 2023, Bustinduy tweeted that he would dedicate his time to 'expanding social rights, an essential condition of democracy, to defending a fair and sustainable consumption model, and to making Spain a benchmark for development and equality'. And it looks like he means it. According to 2024 data from the Spanish statistics office (INE), there were 351,389 short-term rentals advertised in Spain on the Airbnb, and Vrbo sites. Last week Bustinduy chopped that by 65,935 — or just under 20 per cent. 'It is possible to ensure that no economic interest prevails over the right to housing and that no company, no matter how large or powerful, places itself above the law,' he announced before warning foot-dragging local administrations across Spain that he'd had enough of officials 'protecting those who profit from the right to housing. You must act; there are no excuses for inaction. Demand the removal of advertisements for illegal tourist apartments.' The 65,935 holiday rentals in question have not been closed down, but Bustinduy's insistence that they are removed from Airbnb's listings effectively takes them off the market until they toe the line. Will existing bookings be cancelled? Almost certainly not, and because Airbnb is questioning the legality of the ruling, some of the affected properties may be reinstated to the platform. Last summer the tourism minister for the Balearic Islands government, Jaume Bauzá, told me of a plan to hit illegal landlords who, rather than promoting a property on Airbnb, or Vrbo, advertise by word of mouth, on community websites or social media to friends, neighbours and work colleagues. The money changes hands outside of Spain and the clients might come and go undetected. Time is now running out for those operating outside of official channels. A new campaign in Menorca warns landlords 'rent your house illegally and get a €400,000 fine'. In Ibiza, more than 700 unregistered holiday rentals have been shut down since February. In Mallorca a team of inspectors has been ordered to shut down illegal rentals. Beyond the Balearics, in Andalusia, Galicia and elsewhere, more properties are likely to vanish from the booking sites as the Spanish pitbull Bustinduy gnaws on a bone of contention with a doggedness that will endear him to Spain's voters. The trend could even go international. Airbnb's busiest developing markets are fast catching up with Spain in terms of numbers of properties let. Public resentment will inevitably follow, inspiring ambitious politicians to target short-term lets to appeal to populist sentiment. That could shake consumer confidence in a global corporation which, in 2016, encouraged tourists to 'live like locals' while those same locals were being evicted from long-term rentals so that landlords could profit from tourists. So I'm on Bustinduy's side. Renting an apartment or a house somewhere lovely for your holidays may seem like an innocent activity that saves you a few quid, but it has caused misery in Spain. • The secret Spanish isles so beautiful you need a ticket to visit In 2015 my friend Luis — a chef in Barcelona — was living in an apartment across the square from the restaurant where he worked. His wife Carolina, a critical care nurse, could cycle to the hospital, and Luis had time between shifts to take their daughter to and from school. Then their landlord terminated the lease so that he could convert the flat into a short-term let. The only affordable alternative accommodation was a 60-minute commute away. Luis could still take his daughter to school, but he couldn't collect her. Nor could Carolina when she was on shift. As for the dog, he had to go because the family couldn't find anywhere that allowed pets. 'We'd only had him a few months,' said Luis. 'We got him from our neighbour when she was evicted.' Everyone in Spain's tourist hotspots knows someone, it seems, with a similar story. Last August, while making a film about overtourism in Palma, Mallorca, I met a couple carrying their possessions down the street. Claudia and Alberto, both born in Palma, had just had their long-term lease cancelled and were moving out of the city because there was nowhere else to rent. 'Everything is Airbnb,' said Claudia. 'I know that people love this city for the sun and the beach and I want to share. But now I have nothing to share.' Just around the corner a poster proclaimed: 'tourism does not feed the poor. It just makes the rich fatter' — and this raises some awkward questions. • The destinations broken by tourism — and how we fix them Do any of us wish to be complicit in the eviction of people like Luis and Claudia? Do we want our presence in Barcelona, Palma, Madrid, Seville or Las Palmas to be welcomed or resented? Rented apartments almost always beat hotels on price: next weekend £350 will get you either a twin-bedded cupboard in a three-star hotel in Madrid's Puerta del Sol or, a few streets away, an entire former residential apartment that sleeps four and has an outdoor terrace. But, is bagging that bargain the most important consideration here? Companies such as Airbnb, and Vrbo would argue quite rightly that not all short-term lets are a drain on housing stocks. Renting a self-catered holiday villa on a beach in Menorca, a luxury serviced apartment in Barcelona or a spare room in a house in Jerez might not help those working in the hotel and restaurant industries, but it's not robbing locals of their homes. So be selective. Look at the photos and the location — Google Street View will show you if the property is in a residential neighbourhood. Ask yourself if that cosy apartment with the views of the cathedral from the terrace is the kind of place where a now-displaced family might once have had a home? If so, look elsewhere. Or book a hotel and spread the love. What are your thoughts on the ban? Let us know in the comments below
