Huge Protest in Spain Blaming Airbnb for Rising Rents
Calling for Affordable Housing
HAVANA TIMES – In Spain, as many as 150,000 protesters marched in Madrid Sunday to demand affordable housing. Protesters organized under the slogan “Housing is a right, not a business.” Housing advocates have blamed the affordable housing shortage in Spain on short-term rental companies including Airbnb and Booking.com.
[A similar protest took place recently in Barcelona.]
Blanca Prieto: “We Spaniards cannot live in our cities. We are being driven out of the cities, not just out of the center. Cities don’t belong to us. So we have to regulate it. The government has to regulate prices, to regulate housing.”