This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
The tourist apartment rental platform Airbnb is the target of an investigation in Spain for not having removed from its site thousands of accommodations that do not have a tourist license, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on Wednesday.
Led by the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs, the investigation was opened after several requests for compliance addressed to this platform, which were not followed up, specifies the same source in a press release.
In June, the ministry sent a request for information to all tourist rental platforms concerning the advertisements offered on their sites, while asking one of these platforms to “urgently” remove thousands of advertisements. deemed illegal, underlines the same source.
“Several months after this request, the advertisements have not been withdrawn and “this platform has not provided a solution to the problem”, deplores the ministry, for which these facts are punishable by fines of 100,000 euros or “four six times the illicit profit obtained.
“Airbnb always asks rental companies to confirm that they have the necessary authorizations and that they comply with local regulations before placing ads on the platform,” assured a spokesperson for the short-term real estate rental site.
The announcement of this investigation comes as criticism is increasing in the country against tourist apartments, accused of fueling the surge in rents in large cities by reducing the number of accommodations available for rental to residents.
