Britons could be hit with a 100 per cent tax on holiday homes in Spain as part of drastic plans to tackle the country’s growing housing crisis.
The Spanish government, led by Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez, has proposed a new bill that would see non-EU residents – including Britons – charged double for properties in the country.
According to draft legislation seen by Bloomberg, the bill aims to promote “measures that enable access to housing, since we are facing one of the largest problems our society is currently confronted with”.
British nationals are the biggest foreign buyers of Spanish property after locals, accounting for 8.2 per cent of all purchases. In 2023 alone, 27,000 homes were bought by non-EU citizens.
The bill, first announced in January, is part of a wider backlash against rising property prices, which many Spaniards blame on wealthy foreign buyers snapping up homes.
If passed, the law would not apply to businessmen or professional workers, but it would impose VAT hikes on short-term rentals, increase taxes on publicly listed real estate trusts, and introduce penalties on empty homes.
It is not yet clear whether Sánchez can get the law through parliament, where he has faced significant opposition since forming his current government in 2023.
Critics have condemned the bill as discriminatory. Luis de la Matta, spokesman for the centre-right Partido Popular, said his party would not back “a xenophobic measure”, casting further doubt on the bill’s chances.
The proposed tax hike comes amid a broader crackdown on the country’s booming holiday rental market. Last week, Spain ordered Airbnb to remove more than 65,000 listings it said violated existing rules.
Consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy said: “No more excuses. Enough with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing in our country.” He vowed to end the “lack of control” and “illegality” plaguing the sector.
Spain is battling a housing shortage as construction has failed to keep up with soaring demand. In November 2024, there were 321,000 homes listed as holiday rentals – a 15 per cent increase since 2020 – with many more believed to be operating without a licence.
The new measures follow a wave of anti-tourism protests in the Canary Islands earlier this week. Tens of thousands took to the streets in Tenerife, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and Fuerteventura demanding urgent action.
The islands, home to 2.2 million people, attract around 18 million tourists a year.
Activists are calling for a cap on visitor numbers, a ban on new hotels and tourism apartment complexes, and the demolition of projects already deemed illegal.
