A landmark agreement has been signed between Airbnb and the Spanish island of Ibiza, in a bid to tackle illegal tourist accommodation. The deal will see ‘blatantly’ unlawful properties, including caravans, tents, yurts and boats, removed from the platform without any opportunity for discussion or appeal.

This move is designed to avoid expensive legal delays in cracking down on illegal holiday lets. Since the enforcement of the agreement began, over 300 adverts have already been removed from the site with many users banned.

Any Airbnb users found to be breaking the law could face being completely blocked from the platform under the new system. Currently, there are 100 open cases in Ibiza, a figure expected to rise to over 200 with the implementation of these new measures.

The agreement was signed by Ibiza’s council leader, Vicent Mari, and Airbnb’s Spanish director, Jaime Rodriguez de Santiago.  “Airbnb has chosen Ibiza to establish their fight against the intrusion of tourist flats,” said Mari. “The island is small but a big player in Spain’s tourism industry,” according to The Olive Press.

Santiago expressed his hope that Ibiza would be the “first of many” councils to collaborate with Airbnb, stating: “This is the start of a long relationship.”

In a bid to tackle overtourism and its impact, the council has proclaimed that their new agreement will support the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the island while improving tourism quality, reports the Mirror. Mari remarked that the arrangement is “a milestone in the roadmap that we set out more than five years ago to lead a relentless fight against the island’s unregulated supply”.

Amidst growing local exasperation over dwindling housing supplies, holiday lets like Airbnb across Spain have come under fire over the past year. Ibiza, famed for its pulsating club life and idyllic shores, draws legions of Brits each year.

Last June, Barcelona announced a citywide ban on short-term rentals, including Airbnb and Booking.com, by November 2028. Mayor Jaume Collboni cited over 10,000 apartments registered as tourist rentals and plans to halt license issuance, releasing many properties onto the open market.

At the time, he emphasized the need to address Barcelona’s housing shortage, stating: “We are confronting what we believe is Barcelona’s largest problem. More supply of housing is needed, and the measures we’re presenting are to provide more supply so that the working middle class does not have to leave the city because they can’t afford housing.

“This measure will not change the situation from one day to the next. These problems take time. But with this measure we are marking a turning point.”