The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 has achieved the backing of Justice in its struggle with Airbnb after the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has rejected to provisionally suspend the 64 million euro fine imposed on the platform. The decision obliges the company to face the payment of the sanction while the judicial procedure continues, although it can still file an appeal for reconsideration.
The department headed by Pablo Bustinduy sanctioned Airbnb for the publication of tens of thousands of tourist accommodation advertisements that, according to the investigation, violated current regulations. Consumer Affairs detected irregularities in 65,122 advertisements, removed in July 2025, considering that the company engaged in “unfair commercial practices” by allowing the dissemination of homes without the corresponding license or without adequately identifying their registration number.
Furthermore, the Ministry noted that part of the advertisements included licenses that did not correspond with official records or that offered misleading information about the hosts. In this regard, it highlighted that it was not clear if the offerors were acting as private individuals or as professionals, a key aspect for consumer rights, which could constitute misleading advertising.
The majority of the sanction, 63.98 million euros, was classified as a serious infringement and was set based on the “illicit” profit obtained by the platform, equivalent to six times the profits derived from these practices from the Consumer warning until the withdrawal of the advertisements. To this amount are added other minor fines: 10,000 euros for breaches in distance contracts, another 10,000 for obstruction of inspection work, and an additional 55,000 euros for non-compliance with orders issued during the processing of the file.
Airbnb appealed the sanction in the courts, which initially suspended its execution. However, the order from the TSJM known now rejects maintaining that suspension, which provisionally reinforces the action of Consumer Affairs and obliges the company to already assume the economic impact of the fine.
