Politics
Barcelona Restricts Short-Term Rentals to Free Up Long-Term Housing
The ordinance reduces new short-term rental approvals in central districts, which the city projects will leave more apartments available for year-round residents in areas such as Eixample and Gràcia.
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How we reported this
Barcelona City Council has begun applying the Tourist Accommodation Regulation Ordinance approved last month. The measure restricts new short-term rental licences in zones already exceeding a set density threshold. It directly covers residents who rent or seek to rent in the Eixample, Gràcia and Ciutat Vella districts.
The ordinance follows the release of the 2025 municipal housing census, which recorded 9,800 active short-term rental units in those three districts alone. Council staff say the rules respond to sustained pressure on the local rental market after visitor numbers returned to 2019 levels last year.
Daily housing search for Barcelona residents
Under the new rules, property owners in saturated blocks must wait until an existing licence expires before applying for a replacement. Local advocates note that this rotation system is expected to keep several hundred units in the long-term rental pool each quarter. Families looking for two-bedroom flats near Passeig de Gràcia or Carrer de València will therefore compete against fewer temporary listings when scanning portals in the coming months.
Workers on fixed contracts in the technology and tourism sectors stand to see the clearest shift. The ordinance document sets a maximum of one licence per 200 residents in the affected neighbourhoods, a threshold already reached in 14 of the 18 census tracts targeted. As a result, listings that previously converted to tourist use after tenant turnover will now require explicit council approval that is no longer automatic.
Budget figures and next steps
The 2026 municipal budget allocates 38 million euros to the housing department for licence inspections and legal support. City records show that 2,150 licence applications were pending when the ordinance took effect on 1 July. Staff will process these cases on a first-in, first-out basis, with decisions scheduled to begin appearing in the public register from September.
Property owners who convert units without approval face fines starting at 30,000 euros per dwelling. The council has stated that enforcement teams will prioritise complaints lodged through the existing 010 hotline. Residents can track licence status on the municipal open-data portal, which will be updated weekly from the end of July.