Spain cracks down on Airbnb as court upholds €64mn penalty over misleading listings

Airbnb has experienced another setback in the Spanish market. On Monday, the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) rejected the company’s request for interim measures to suspend payment of the nearly €64 million fine imposed on it by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in December 2025. As a result of this decision, the platform must pay the penalty while the court case continues.

The ruling does not address the substance of the case, but simply rejects the company’s request to halt payment until a final judgment is issued. Airbnb, however, still intends to challenge the fine, arguing that it goes against the Spanish and European legal framework.

The fine was issued for several infringements related to the publication of tourist accommodation adverts on its platform. Chief among them were the listing of unlicensed properties, the use of false or incorrect registration numbers, and the lack of accurate information about hosts, practices that the authorities describe as misleading for consumers.

According to Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the amount of the fine is equivalent to six times the illegal profit made through these practices. The irregularities also affected tens of thousands of adverts that breached the regional regulations in force on tourist accommodation.

The government has sought to tighten control over short-term tourist rentals to tackle the housing crisis affecting Spain and other major European markets. Other countries, including France, Italy, and Portugal, have also toughened their rules in response to the impact on access to housing.