Airbnb gets ahead of the government and launches non-refundable grants for housing renovation in rural Spain

In total, more than 42 million euros will be available over the next three years, both for this purpose and for other projects aimed at revitalising rural environments.

The plan is ambitious and already this year the intention is to distribute up to five million euros for different projects. The beneficiaries of the first phase of the programme, christened rural commitment 2026-2029, will be two territories and the aid will be divided into direct transfers (1.7 million) and concessional financing (3.4 million).

The non-refundable grants will be aimed at projects to rehabilitate empty or unused housing, improve infrastructure or public facilities and restore and enhance assets of cultural or natural interest.

On the other hand, the soft loans offered by Airbnb will be aimed at projects for the reactivation of local businesses and rural entrepreneurship that demonstrate economic viability. The platform also clarifies that these two channels are compatible with each other: "The same territory may combine direct aid with the financial instrument to implement a local economic activation project," it states.

The company says the aim of the scheme is to help towns, municipalities or associations of municipalities that have disused housing, active economic fabric and assets of interest, along with ready-to-go projects and local backing.

To be eligible for aid, applicants must have a population between 1,500 and 30,000 inhabitants; basic digital connectivity (stable 4G and/or fibre optic ≥ 30 Mbps); road access allowing regular transit; existence of at least two assets of interest within the territory; spaces suitable for economic, cultural or community activities; availability of basic services (water, sanitation and electricity) and a regulatory framework favourable to the development of tourism activity.

In addition, the main requirement of the brand is that the project be presented by a legally constituted "profit or non-profit" entity, with "the capacity to centralise projects and manage their execution in the territory". In addition, the territory must have at least "a strategic document" such as a municipal rural development plan, a tourism master plan, a sustainable tourism plan or a municipal strategic plan, among other initiatives. The project must also have the support of public and private stakeholders involved in its planning and implementation.

The initiative is the result of the commitment that Airbnb is making in Spain to promote tourist rentals in low population areas, where empty homes are multiplying and the scarcity of businesses makes it difficult for visitors to come to these areas. Derived from this plan, the platform is also lobbying the government to facilitate legislation like the French for tourist use housing (VUT) that distinguishes the location and also differentiates between occasional rentals (less than 120 days a year) and professional rentals.

However, the project presented this week by Airbnb is similar to the one that the Spanish government also wants to launch in rural areas, although aimed at increasing the supply of affordable rentals to try to repopulate these environments. This has been set out in the II national strategy for territorial equity and the demographic challenge drafted by the ministry for ecological transition.

Among the measures in this proposal are the granting of aid to encourage owners to rent out their empty homes, the promotion of home-sharing formulas or, given the state of deterioration of many of these homes due to the passage of time, the launching of a special programme of aid for renovation in exchange for renting out the houses.