Spain’s Supreme Court strikes down national registry for tourist rentals

MADRID, May 21 (Reuters) – Spain’s Supreme Court has struck down a national registry for short-term tourist rentals seeking to advertise on platforms such as Airbnb that was introduced by the coalition government last July, a ruling seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.

• The national registry for short-term stays required property owners to register and obtain a number before listing on platforms such as Airbnb.

• Several regional governments challenged the measure, arguing the central government overstepped its powers.

• The Supreme Court agreed, ruling the state lacked authority to impose a national registry on top of similar ones that already existed at the regional level.

• Spain’s government has been seeking ways to curb short-term tourist rentals in the world’s second-most visited country after France, where nearly a third of visitors opt to stay in apartments rather than hotels.

• The Supreme Court’s ruling does, however, uphold online platforms’ obligation to provide data about their offerings to the authorities.

• European Union rules allow for the collection of data on short-term accommodation rental listings on online platforms, but the court said they do not require the creation of a national registry.

(Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)