To contain tourism, Spanish city to ban short apartment rentals

PALMA, Majorca — In summers, Majorca and its sister islands off the eastern coast of Spain were once a discreet destination for the cultured, famous and well-heeled. In the 19th century, composer Frédéric Chopin and his partner, writer George Sand, were among those who sought its Mediterranean climate.

Celebrities still come, but in more recent years, bargain airlines and package tours have added to the mix, with Britons and others looking for cheap and drunken vacations.

It has gotten to the point where some hotels in the port of Magaluf have encased their balconies in glass panels to prevent inebriated clients from jumping off. Usually they land in swimming pools, sometimes not. In early June, a 20-year-old tourist became the second per- son to fall to his death this year.

Then there is Palma, the island’s quieter, tonier capital, where the mayor is erecting his own kind of barrier to tourists: Next month, it will become the first Spanish city to ban the short-term rental of apartments through Airbnb and other home-sharing websites.

“We want Palma to remain livable for its inhabitants,” Mayor Antoni Noguera said. “We believe that we are setting a trend, because there are many cities in Europe that have the same problem.”

Airbnb and others have already been facing a backlash. Amsterdam and Paris are among the European cities that decided to limit the number of days people can rent their apartments. Different restrictions have come into force across North America.

But Noguera may be right to think his city is taking the clampdown a step further. Under Palma’s new rules, only owners of detached town houses will be allowed to rent to tourists. Anybody offering short-term rentals in an apartment building risks a fine of as much as 40,000 euros, about $46,670.

The mayor and other critics of Airbnb insist that they want to contain rather than dampen tourism.

But they view short-term rentals as a frontal attack on the social fabric of their city, reducing the housing supply and making Palma unaffordable for its 440,000 residents.

Joan Miralles, president of Habtur, an association that represents homeowners who rent to tourists, said local politicians have made Airbnb the scapegoat for their failure to control the tourism boom and to build more affordable housing.