The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 has required two tourist rental platforms to remove 8,318 advertisements for accommodations that are advertised as seasonal rentals but would allow reservations for less than 31 days. According to the department led by Pablo Bustinduy, this practice could violate urban leasing regulations and constitute misleading commercial communication.
The General Directorate of Consumption has identified the advertisements following the modification of the Urban Leasing Law through Royal Decree-Law 29/2026, approved by the Council of Ministers on October 6. The regulation establishes a minimum duration of 31 days for seasonal contracts, according to information released by the ministry.
The majority of the flagged advertisements are concentrated in the Community of Madrid, where 6,772 have been located. Of these, 6,523 correspond to accommodations located in the capital.
The majority of the flagged advertisements are concentrated in the Community of Madrid, where 6,772 have been located
Consumption considers that advertising accommodations that allow stays shorter than this period as seasonal rentals could mislead consumers. Therefore, it has requested the two platforms to remove the advertisements through the notification mechanisms provided in the Digital Services Regulation.
Once the notification is received, the platforms could assume direct responsibility for the communicated content if they do not act in accordance with the regulations. If they do not remove the advertisements or block access to them, Consumption warns that it could open a file against them.
More actions on tourist rentals
The requirement adds to other actions by the Ministry of Consumption against practices it considers contrary to the regulations in the rental market. The department imposed a fine of 64 million euros on Airbnb for offering thousands of tourist accommodations that, according to the ministry, violated the regulations. Following that action, more than 65,000 advertisements were removed from the platform.
Booking, for its part, removed more than 4,000 advertisements that did not comply with the regulations after receiving an official request from Consumption.
The ministry also sanctioned the real estate company Alquiler Seguro with 3.6 million euros for practices it deemed abusive against tenants. According to Consumo, the file included six very serious infractions and one serious related to the violation of consumer rights and the exploitation of a dominant position in the market.
In addition, the department has another file open against a large real estate company that manages thousands of rentals in Spain for similar practices.