WITH its eye-catching orange tree-lined streets, renowned gastronomy and spectacular monuments such as the Plaza de España or Royal Alcazar, it’s no surprise that Sevilla has become a leading destination for tourists eager to soak up some Spanish culture.
In fact, the Pearl of Andalucia is Spain’s third most popular city with visitors, with around 4.8 million making the trip in 2024 alone – behind only Madrid and Barcelona.
But this steady stream of sightseers can have some unwanted consequences.
According to data published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, Sevilla is the city in Spain home to the highest number of tourist apartments operating outside legal regulations, with 2,289 units.
Other nearby tourist hotspots follow close behind, with Marbella (1,802), Malaga (1,471), Benalmadena (926) and Fuengirola (686) all boasting high levels of illegal tourist flats.
Andalucia is the worst region nationwide with 16,740 illegal tourist lets identified, followed by the Canary Islands (8,698), Catalunya (7,729), the Valencian Community (7,499) and Galicia (2,640).
Of its eight provinces, Malaga is the worst offender with over 8,000 sites that do not meet legal registration standards, whether minimum habitability levels or safety standards.
Cadiz is next with 2,849 lets, followed by Sevilla (2,533) and Granada (1,250).
READ MORE: Sevilla can legally cut off water supply to law-breaking tourist flats, court rules
Last summer, Sevilla’s city council vowed to wage war on the proliferation of illegal tourist lets by disconnecting the water supply to illegally-operated tourist apartments.
Three owners appealed, but their complaints were thrown out in court who said action taken by the council was lawful.
In Barcelona, mayor Jaume Collboni announced that the city would effectively ban tourist apartments by 2028 by not renewing the licenses of over 10,000 legally operated flats.
Over the weekend, prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced plans to remove 53,000 tourist apartments from rental platforms across Spain, with problematic properties converted into permanent rental accommodation for young people and families.
Residents in popular tourist destinations across Spain blame the rise in tourist apartments – whether legal or illegal – for fuelling the country’s housing crisis, with many locals forced to leave their hometowns due to a lack of affordable accommodation.
Rents have soared by 80% over the past decade, far outpacing wage growth.
Nearly half of all Spanish tenants now spend at least 40% of their income on rent and utilities – significantly higher than the EU average of 27%.
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If I, as an occasional short-term landlord, were forced to terminate my tenancy, I would continue to use it exclusively for myself for 10 weeks a year, and it would remain empty the rest of the time. This would provide no benefit to potential long-term tenants.