Catalonia has 51,305 tourist apartments, 9.7% less than a year ago, according to the INE

BarcelonaCatalonia had 51,305 tourist homes in May, 5,546 fewer than a year earlier, that is, 9.7% less, according to data from the experimental statistics on tourist homes from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published this Wednesday. The number of places in tourist homes in the Principality in May this year was 284,653, 7.8% less than in the same month of the previous year, when there were 308,770 places available.

The decrease in both tourist homes and the number of places in this type of accommodation has not only fallen in Catalonia, but also at the state level. In Spain in May there were 341,001 tourist homes, 10.7% less than a year earlier, which totaled 1,714,702 beds, 11% less than a year earlier.

The autonomous communities with the most tourist homes in May were Andalusia (90,649); Catalonia (51,305); the Valencian Community (51,268); the Canary Islands (48,356); and the Balearic Islands (21,304). However, all of them showed decreases. For their part, the provinces with the most tourist homes last May were Malaga (45,176); Alicante (32,148); Las Palmas (26,998); Tenerife (21,358); the Balearic Islands (21,304); and Girona (20,821). The number of tourist homes only increased in the provinces of Badajoz (16%); Cáceres (14%); Jaén (7%); Cuenca (6%); and La Rioja (1%), compared to May 2025.

In addition, the municipalities with the most tourist homes were Madrid (10,836); Malaga (8,288); Barcelona (8,231); Marbella (6,987); Seville (6,937); Valencia (5,393); Mijas (4,465); Oliva (3,979); and Arona (3,967).

The Spanish government has not hesitated to boast about this data. "This is the second largest drop in the historical series, and both decreases coincide with the entry into force of the Digital Single Window and the reform of the Horizontal Property Law, which empowers neighbors to veto these types of non-residential uses of housing," highlighted sources from the Ministry of Housing.

However, on May 21, the Supreme Court declared null and void the procedure for a single registry of short-term rentals that are to be advertised on digital platforms, understanding that the State does not have the competence to establish this "exhaustive" regulation, which overlaps with the regional one.

One day after the governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, criticized that the housing problem is not being treated as a national emergency, sources from the ministry, with this data from the INE on tourist-use housing, have indicated that the Spanish executive "continues to work to ensure that the largest number of available homes are allocated to affordable residential rentals". Ministry sources have highlighted the different aids and instruments contained in the State Housing Plan 2026-2030 to attract these homes, which currently have tourist uses, back to the residential market.

Criticism of the PP

From the ministry, a call has been made for other administrations to join in returning tourist apartments to the housing market. "It is essential that the rest of the administrations join this commitment, especially after learning that the Bank of Spain estimates that 900,000 homes that could house families are being used as tourist apartments or second (or third) residences for non-residents," the ministry highlighted.

The Spanish government has not hesitated to criticize the lack of involvement from the communities governed by the PP. "So far, the autonomous governments in the hands of the PP have dedicated themselves to challenging all the measures promoted by the government to limit the presence of tourist apartments, which not only collide with the right to housing, but also blur the cities and harm coexistence," the same sources indicated.