- In New York, a law has recently been established that significantly limits short-term rental and particularly affects tourist houses. Basically, this law prohibits rentals under 30 days, so it outlaws most tourist houses. From there, the team of geographers of Haritik Hiriko has analyzed what would happen if this law were applied in several cities in the Basque Country.
In the case of Donostia-San Sebastian, 93.80% of the rentals offered through the Aibnb platform would be unlegalized, from where most tourist homes are offered, according to geographers: “Of the 1,806 offers that can be found in the Gipuzkoan capital, only 109 are long-term rentals. Thus, the remaining 1,694 offers (93.80% of the offer) would be illegal if we applied the law passed in New York.” Hiriko's data on the cable comes from Airbnb itself.
The supply of tourist houses would be reduced throughout the city, but the reduction is especially significant in the Old Part, Downtown and Gros, as seen in the image below. In fact, Haritik Hirira earlier this year analyzed the evolution of the supply of tourist houses before the pandemic in San Sebastian and showed that there are now more tourist houses in the city than before the pandemic; this media then published a comprehensive report on it.
The cases of Biarritz, Baiona and Bilbao were also analysed, all of which would result in similar reductions: 94.02% of the Airbnb offer in Biarritz would be illegal, 96.4% in Baiona and 95.38% in Bilbao. “The short-term rental ban we have raised would not solve the current housing crisis, but it could be an important precedent. At the end of the day, many of the homes for current tourist use would allow them to become familiar dwellings, giving priority, along with the possible demographic, social and economic benefits, the basic use and right of housing: the residential,” geographers added.
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