The mayor of Barcelona has pledged to eliminate Airbnb-style short lets in the city within five years. 

Socialist Jaume Collboni claims he will not renew any of the 10,101 tourist licenses granted to landlords when they expire in November 2028. 

He says the properties – mostly advertised on Airbnb and similar platforms – would be available to locals instead. 

Collboni claims this would be “equivalent to building 10,000 new homes” and comes in response to rents becoming unaffordable after rising an estimated 70% over the past 10 years.

In recent months, thousands of activists have protested in Barcelona, the Balearics and the Canary Islands against the effects of mass tourism.

“More supply of housing is needed, and the measures we’re presenting today are to provide more supply so that the working middle class does not have to leave the city because they can’t afford housing.

“This measure will not change the situation from one day to the next. These problems take time. But with this measure we are marking a turning point” says Collboni.

Rents in Barcelona increased 14% in the past 12 months and are the highest in Spain according to Idealista, the country’s main property portal.

Some activists have criticised the move, saying 2028 is too far away to resolve the housing crisis; other more mainstream politicians have criticised the move for infringing property rights and resembling a dictatorship.

The Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona says the change would lead to flats being illegally let to tourists and was little more than a smokescreen for the failure of Collboni’s housing policies.