The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has rejected Airbnb’s request to provisionally suspend the fine of almost 64 million euros imposed by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, which forces the platform to pay the fine while the case is being resolved. This imposes payment of the fine on the apartments and tourist accommodation platform, which will have to respond following the Government’s request to Airbnb to remove up to 65,000 illegal ads last year.
The court decision represents a setback for the tourist rental company, which had appealed the sanction issued in December 2025 for alleged violations in the publication of advertisements. Following the court’s order, the company can still file an appeal for reconsideration before the TSJM itself, although the payment obligation remains in force.
The sanction has its origins in an investigation by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which detected irregularities in 65,122 advertisements published on the platform and withdrawn in July 2025. Specifically, the department headed by Pablo Bustinduy concluded that Airbnb committed “unfair commercial practices” because it published tourist accommodations without a license or with incorrect data, contrary to regional regulations that require the registration number to be included in advertising.
Misleading advertising and illicit profit
The file also states that some advertisements showed license numbers that did not correspond to official records or lacked accurate information about the legal nature of the hosts, which constitutes misleading advertising.
Due to these facts, Consumption classified the violation as serious and set a fine of 63.98 million euros, equivalent to six times the profit considered illegal obtained by the company during the period in which the advertisements remained active after the administrative warning.
To this amount are added other minor sanctions for additional non-compliance, such as obstruction of inspection work or non-compliance with provisional measures issued during the processing of the file, which slightly increase the total amount.
A regulatory pulse in the midst of the housing debate
The case is part of the growing struggle between public administrations and tourist rental platforms, in a context of strong tension in the housing market in Spain. The authorities seek to strengthen control over illegal or irregular supply, to which part of the increase in rental prices in certain cities is attributed.
The decision of the TSJM reinforces, at least provisionally, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ strategy of tightening supervision of the digital tourism sector. However, the judicial procedure remains open and the final ruling will determine whether the sanction fully complies with the law.
Meanwhile, the resolution forces Airbnb to face the payment of one of the largest fines imposed in Spain on a digital platform for practices related to consumer protection.