More than 16,000 illegal tourist flat listings have been detected in Andalucia as part of a major crackdown on unregistered holiday rentals, regional authorities have revealed.
The announcement comes as new figures suggest the explosive growth of tourist accommodation across the region is finally beginning to slow.
According to the Junta de Andalucia, there are currently around 152,000 registered tourist properties in the region, representing an increase of just 3% compared to the same period last year.
The figure marks a significant slowdown from 2025, when the number of tourist flats was growing at an annual rate of more than 14%.
Officials say the change is the result of tougher regulations, increased inspections and closer cooperation with local councils and rental platforms.
A key part of the strategy has been the introduction of new restrictions in some of Andalucia’s most tourism-saturated destinations.
Using powers granted under the Junta’s emergency housing decree approved in 2025, councils have been able to impose moratoriums and limits on new tourist flat registrations.
Measures have already been introduced in cities including Cadiz, El Puerto de Santa Maria and parts of central Sevilla, where concerns have grown over the impact of holiday rentals on local housing availability.
Authorities have also carried out a major review of properties previously registered through Spain’s self-declaration system.
Working alongside municipal planning departments, the Junta says it has already removed more than 15,300 tourist flats from the register after discovering they did not comply with legal or planning requirements.
Those removals account for around 80,000 tourist accommodation places across Andalucia.
At the same time, a specialist enforcement campaign has uncovered more than 16,000 properties operating illegally.
The operation has been led by the Policia Nacional’s Titan unit, which uses digital monitoring and inspection tools to identify unregistered holiday rentals being advertised online.
The regional government says the effort forms part of a wider inspection programme running throughout 2026 in collaboration with major booking platforms.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
