Spain's Consumer Affairs Ministry has told two unnamed booking platforms to pull 8,318 property adverts that marketed tourist accommodation as temporary housing — while still accepting stays of under 31 days. The ministry says the listings could constitute misleading advertising under the country's newest housing rules, and the platforms have been formally notified through EU Digital Services Act procedures. Neither company has been named, and at the announcement neither had yet responded.

The geography is striking: 6,772 of the flagged adverts — about 81% of the total — sit in the Madrid region, with 6,523 in the capital itself. That concentration prompted Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy to publicly call out Madrid's mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida of the People's Party, accusing him of ignoring a list of more than 15,000 illegal tourist flats the ministry sent over a year ago.

At the heart of the dispute is a legal loophole. Since the 2023 housing law, some landlords have used temporary contracts — meant for tenants with a genuine, documented short-term need — to dodge protections covering ordinary residential rents, tenancy lengths and annual increases. Royal Decree-law 29/2026, which took effect on 8 October, closes in on that practice: temporary contracts now require a documented reason, a minimum duration of 31 days and a general cap of 12 months. Labelling tourist flats as temporary housing also lets operators avoid holiday-let licences and apartment owners' association restrictions.

There is a tax angle too. From 1 December, a 10% VAT applies to qualifying furnished holiday accommodation rented to the same guest for up to 30 nights, with an exception where the property is the landlord's own home.

This is not the ministry's first crackdown. Airbnb has already removed more than 65,000 listings and was later fined €64 million over adverts lacking proper licences, while Booking.com took down over 4,000 non-compliant ads after an official request. Bustinduy framed the latest action as part of the same push: "No economic interest is above the right to housing in this country."

For travellers, the practical upshot is that some listings on major platforms may vanish — particularly in Madrid — and that a booked 'temporary rental' shorter than 31 days may not be what it claims. If you're booking a Madrid apartment for a short stay, check that it carries a proper tourist licence number; legitimate holiday lets should have one.