Staff Reporter
A SPANISH court has cancelled a €30,000 fine imposed by Catalonia’s government on Airbnb.
The property sharing site – which allows owners to short-let their properties – had been sanctioned for advertising lodgings without a permit to host tourists, now required by law in the region.
The Barcelona court justified its decision on the grounds that there is a legal vacuum regarding the regulation of the ‘sharing economy’ in Spain.
It is the first time a Spanish court has overturned a fine against Airbnb.
Of course Spain has cancelled this fine. It saves the embarrassment of being unable to collect it, as Airbnb is outside it’s jurisdiction. More hot-air from a country with little clout.