Barcelona cracks down on Airbnb rentals with illegal apartment squads

The city council has doubled its team of holiday-let inspectors, as rising rents continue to fuel a row over tourismThe next time you book a holiday apartment in Barcelona you may wake up to find an inspector standing at the end of the bed.Amid growing evidence that the massive upsurge in tourist apartments is driving rents up and residents out, the city has launched a crackdown on illegal, unlicensed apartments, and Airbnb, the dominant platform, is in the eye of the storm, although not the onl