Spain’s tourist‑rental market shrinks as new rules wipe out 40,000 listings

Spain’s short‑term rental sector is contracting sharply. The Bank of Spain’s 2025 annual report and data from Fotocasa show that the total number of tourist‑flats fell from a peak of about 400,000 in 2024 to roughly 341,000 in May 2026 – a loss of more than 40,000 units in 18 months. The drop accelerated after the April 2025 reform of the horizontal property law, which now requires explicit approval from the building community before a dwelling can be let as a tourist accommodation. A nationwide “single register” for short‑term rentals and municipal moratoria on new licences further limited supply. In the Canary Islands, regional rules cut the tourist‑rental stock by about 20 % in one year, lowering sector revenues by a third.

These regulatory moves have reduced the share of tourist rentals in the overall housing stock to about 1.3 % nationally, though in hotspot cities such as Málaga and Seville they account for over 40 % of local rentals. Analysts say the contraction eases pressure on the residential market but does not automatically translate into lower long‑term rents. At the same time, Airbnb has launched a campaign promoting rural villages as new tourism destinations, signalling a strategic shift as the urban short‑term market tightens.