Alicante Official Defends Freeze on New Short-Term Rentals

Following Alicante’s recent move to stop licensing any more short-term rental properties, officials and residents in the popular coastal city are weighing in on the measure, which aims to preserve affordable housing.

The town stopped issuing permits for more short-term rentals for the next two years. Its goal is to “preserve the housing supply available for long-term rentals and future purchases by our residents,” urban planning councilor Rocío Gómez told Skift.

“Our main aim is to take care of our neighborhoods and citizens, always taking into account the tourist character of our city,” Gómez said.

The city council commissioned an independent report about the state of short-term rentals in Alicante, finding 3,292 properties lacked proper licensing. 

The estimated 4,108 tourist flats in Alicante comprised approximately 2% of the total housing stock. 

“This report recommended us to establish a moratorium on new licenses, in order to have time to reorder this sector,” Gómez said.

Tourists Remain ‘Welcome‘ To Visit

Asked if overtourism played a role in banning additional short-term rentals, Gómez said: “Alicante doesn’t have a problem with overtourism. This is not the point.”

“We are proud of our sunbathed and lightful city, our beaches, our gastronomy, and our culture, and we welcome tourists to visit us,” she said.

Tourism provides between 15% and 20% of Alicante’s gross domestic product, and it remained important for the city to supply “the best accommodation” to tourists. 

However, it was “essential to preserve the housing supply” for residents, she said, and a large number of tourist rentals “could undermine this supply.”

The city council said it would conduct zonal studies to define the specific zones where tourist-use properties will be permitted and those where they will not.

“We are going to assess all neighborhoods to address how many short-term rentals are allowed in each neighborhood and review all the laws over tourist lets,” Gómez said.

The city has a population of about 350,000, but over 70,000 expats from Britain live in the region, according to Moving to Spain, which offers advice to expats.

Alicante takes third place for numbers of foreign residents in Spain, said The Association for Solidarity with Immigrant workers (ASTI Alicante).

European Cities Cap Short-Term Rentals

Alicante is just the latest in a number of Spanish cities to ban short-term rentals to relieve pressure on housing supply. Alicante is banning short-term rentals in a move it says

Last October, Malaga banned short-term rentals in over 40 neighborhoods, and Barcelona’s mayor announced last summer that the city would ban them completely as of 2029. 

Other popular regions, including Ibiza and Mallorca, are also exploring measures to control short-term holiday rentals.

Elsewhere in Europe, Athens has introduced a one-year ban on registering new apartments for short-term rentals as authorities seek solutions to the Greek capital’s housing shortage.

The law bans new short-term apartment registrations in several Athenian districts, including in-demand areas such as Kolonaki, Koukaki, and Pangrati.

“Many cities and countries are struggling with how to regulate the short-term rental market. We are taking some important first steps in that direction. If we think more are needed, we will not hesitate to do them,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech in Thessaloniki in September. 

Governments Will Become a Bigger Part of Your Travel Plans

As cities around the world deal with a major influx of tourists, get ready to see more short-term rental restrictions, tourist taxes, and reservation systems for some of the most popular destinations.

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