Ada Colau, Barcelona’s mayor, said it was not acceptable “that there are thousands of apartments operating illegally and without a licence, without paying taxes and causing damage to homeowner associations”.
Barcelona will fine Airbnb and HomeAway €600,000 (US$636,000) each for listing unlicensed tourist apartments for short-term let.
Ada Colau, Barcelona’s mayor, said it was not acceptable “that there are thousands of apartments operating illegally and without a licence, without paying taxes and causing damage to homeowner associations”.
The fines are the second sanctions Barcelona has levied against Airbnb and HomeAway, reports the Financial Times.
In July 2015, the city served each of them two fines of €30,000 for offering tourist apartments without publishing their tourism registry licence number, as required by law in Barcelona’s region of Catalonia.
Other city administrations, including Berlin and New York, have accused Airbnb and its rivals of driving up rental prices.
Airbnb’s spokesman in Barcelona, Andreu Castellano, said the company was “saddened” by the decision and would appeal.