Airbnb imposes limits on rentals in Barcelona

Owners in central Barcelona will only be able to rent one place on Airbnb under new rules announced by the home rental website on Tuesday, at odds with local authorities.

The new limits come as the popular Mediterranean resort is grappling with an ever-growing number of tourists who infuriate locals, threatening to drive out poorer residents due to soaring rental prices and spoil the charm of the area. second largest city in Spain.

As such, the town hall, led by former anti-eviction activist Ada Colau, has embarked on the warpath against American society, fining it 600,000 euros ($ 640,000) per year. last for having marketed dwellings without a permit to accommodate tourists.

On Tuesday, Airbnb announced that those with a property in the downtown area will only be allowed to post a single rental ad on the website.

Travelers will automatically have to pay a tourist tax when booking an apartment or house, he added.

Airbnb has already set up such a system in 220 locations around the world, allowing it to collect more than 170 million euros in taxes which it then pays to local communities, the group said in a statement.

The measures will be implemented in May, a company spokesperson told AFP.

But Agusti Colom, head of tourism at Barcelona city hall, called Airbnb’s measures a “joke”, calling on the company to obey the law and stop allowing accommodation that does not have the necessary permits to be. listed on the website.

Airbnb has come under increasing criticism in a number of cities around the world, with critics claiming these services exacerbate local housing shortages, suffocate the long-term rental industry and are not subject to legal constraints. and tax on business enterprises.

New York, Miami and Berlin are just a few of the cities that have recently cracked down

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© 2017 AFP