High Court of Justice of Madrid

The High Court of Justice of Madrid (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, TSJM) refused on 23 March 2026 to suspend the €64 million fine imposed on Airbnb by Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The ruling is the first national STR enforcement action to survive a suspension challenge anywhere in the European Union, arriving nearly two months before the EU-wide STR registration deadline of 20 May 2026. The court's refusal means the fine stands while Airbnb's substantive appeal proceeds; it does not constitute a final ruling on the merits.

The High Court of Justice of Madrid is the highest court within the Madrid Autonomous Community, sitting above the ordinary civil and administrative courts but below the Supreme Court. It handles appeals in administrative, civil, criminal and social matters. In this case, Airbnb sought an interim suspension of the fine pending its full appeal against the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' December 2025 sanction.

The ruling resets the reference price of STR non-compliance across the EU. Every platform lawsuit against national STR rules since 2019 has been won by the platforms; the Madrid court's refusal to suspend breaks that record. Platform lawyers have argued in off-record briefings that consumer-affairs ministries cannot use national STR rules to bypass the EU's single market for digital services. If the substantive appeal accepts that argument, the €64m becomes a political embarrassment rather than a precedent. Until then, it is the number every other EU member state is watching.