Spanish court rejects Airbnb appeal and keeps order to block nearly 66,000 listings

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MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Airbnb and left in place an order to block almost 66,000 rental listings that the government said violated local rules.

The government has said the platform's short-term rentals in city centers and tourism hot spots are contributing to Spain’s housing crunch while the country welcomes record numbers of visitors.

Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to block 65,935 listings in the country after the Consumer Rights Ministry flagged them for violations. It said Airbnb had to immediately take down 5,800 of them.

The ministry has said the listings it flagged did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. It said others listed numbers that didn’t match what authorities had.

In a statement, Airbnb said the ministry's actions went against Spanish regulations that hold owners of short-term rentals, not the platform, as responsible for listing such information. It also said the Madrid court's decision was not made on the merits of the ministry's order, adding that will take longer to decide.

The company asserted that Spain's housing crisis comes down to “a lack of supply to meet demand,” and said anything else "is a distraction.”

Last month, Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press that the tourism sector could not "jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,” including their right to housing and well-being.

Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government had to tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism. He advocated for building more housing while regulating short-term holiday rentals.