MADRID, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The European Holiday Home Association, which represents short-term rentals on online platforms such as Airbnb, has filed a complaint with the European Commission against the Spanish region of Catalonia for allowing cities to ban such rentals.
In June, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni announced a plan to shut down all short-term rentals by 2028 in a bid to curb rising rents for local residents, based on a regional housing decree adopted last year that leaves it up to municipalities whether to include holiday flats in their permits planning.
The association said in a statement on Wednesday the new rules were "unjustified, disproportionate and unsuitable to address overtourism and housing shortages", and that the decree had been "adopted urgently and without any period of public consultation".
"We are convinced that EU law has not been respected," EHHA Secretary General Viktorija Molnar said in the same statement, citing the European Services Directive that demands that rules must be justified, non-discriminatory and proportionate.
The EHHA hopes that Brussels will also open a formal infringement procedure against Spain, one of the world's most visited countries.
Global holiday home rental company Airbnb this week urged Collboni to reconsider the widening crackdown on holiday homes.
The company said the strict restrictions for tourist accommodation licences, imposed since 2014, have not been effective in addressing the challenges related to the housing crisis and the massive impact of tourists.
Barcelona has around 8,800 short-term rental homes, according to Spanish official data.
(Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Andrei Khalip and Kim Coghill)
((corina.pons@thomsonreuters.com; 0034 690725854; Reuters Messaging: corina.pons.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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