One of Spain's main tourist destinations is set to ban apartment rentals to tourists in a bid to improve housing for local residents.
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00:00Barcelona City Council has announced plans to scrap 10,000 tourist flat licenses in a bid to address the city's acute housing crisis.
00:10The city's mayor described the move as a turning point in tackling the local problem that's felt in all of Europe's major tourist destinations.
00:19And that will allow us to put 10,000 flats in the rental market or for sale or simply to have the residential use that they would never have lost.
00:32Under the new plan, landlords have five years to convert their licenses and sell or rent their properties.
00:39But proponents of Airbnb and other short-term tourism rental platforms warn that the radical plan will impact jobs and negatively hit the city.
00:48According to council data, the price of renting in the Catalan capital has risen by 68% in 10 years while buying and selling has increased by only 38%.