The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 led by Pablo Bustinduy has conveyed to two well-known real estate platforms the requirement to remove 8,318 advertisements for tourist accommodation camouflaged as seasonal rentals, since they do not comply with the Urban Leases Law (LAU) subsequently modified by RDL 29/2026 approved on October 6 in the Council of Ministers and which is now waiting to go through the Permanent Deputation.
It has been the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs that has identified more than 8,300 advertisements that would be illegal since they advertised tourist accommodation as seasonal homes for which reservations are allowed for less than 31 days (one month), which is the minimum duration for these contracts established by the law after the most recent changes.
The violations are located throughout Spain but with the highest incidence in the Community of Madrid with 6,772 in total of which 6,523 are in the city. The action has been possible thanks to the fact that the Council of Ministers approved in the first week of October a special rule so that these fraudulent offers could not be carried out, which is RDL 29/2026 where, among other measures, the seasonal rental offer is limited to 31 days.
The Government considers that these advertisements are misleading for consumers and that they represent a violation of article 47 of the TRLGDCU (Recast Text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users). The affected platforms, which are two according to the Ministry, have already been informed and if they do not remove the ads or block access, they may be prosecuted.
Sanction of 64 million euros to Airbnb
Consumer Affairs has already sanctioned the Airbnb platform with 64 million euros for offering thousands of tourist accommodations that were not complying with the regulations and which resulted in more than 65,000 advertisements disappearing from the portal. Booking, for its part, eliminated 4,000 homes that were not advertised in accordance with the standard.
In addition, Rental Insurance was also fined 3.6 million euros for abusive practices against tenants. In this sense, Consumption warned of 6 very serious infractions and one serious one that violated the rights of consumers and, for this reason, the Ministry concludes, a file has been opened against “a large real estate agency” that rents “thousands of properties throughout Spain.”