Another day, another European city proposing restrictions on holiday lets. Following in the footsteps of other major Spanish cities Barcelona and Madrid, the Andalusian city of Seville is the latest destination to address discontent about rent prices from its locals.
On Thursday, the city council pledged new restrictions on the granting of short-term holiday let licences, which will mean that across Seville’s 108 different neighbourhoods, no more than 10 percent of properties can be tourist apartments.
What’s more, in areas that are already pretty chocker-block with lets, such as the historic centre and neighbourhoods like Triana, no more licences will be granted.
Some think the policy doesn’t go far enough. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party have said, according to the Liverpool Echo, that 23,000 tourist lets could still be granted licences under the scheme, and that the rules should be ‘tougher and more ambitious’.
It follows news that other major Spanish cities – Barcelona and Madrid – are planning to implement very strict caps on short-term lets, with the former planning an all-out ban from November 2028.
So what’s all the fuss about? Well, Spain is set to overtake France as the single most-visited country in the world by 2040, with a report projecting a staggering 110 million visitors per year. And while that will of course bring in a lot of cash for Spain’s economy, rental prices in the country have soared by 70 percent in the last 10 years, and in locals’ eyes, short-term rentals are to blame.
More on overtourism
Spain isn’t the only place where cities have had enough of short term lets: Athens, Budapest, and Czechia are all considering various caps on them, too.
What’s more, there are plenty of destinations that want people to stay away and lots of places are upping their tourist taxes.
Did you see that this European capital just banned late-night bar crawls?
Plus: These are the most expensive cities to rent in Europe.
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