Spanish anti-tourist campaigners superglue 500 rental lockboxes in one night

Campaigners target short-term lets in Granada, in an act of 'sabotage' against holidaymakers and protesting rising rents 

We've seen plenty of stories and videos of anti-tourist actions in the Balearic Islands, Barcelona and Málaga, with residents pushing back against the impact of mass tourism. Now Granada has joined the fight, focusing on tourist rental apartments, which campaigners are calling 'clandestine hotels' popping up across the city.

These flats are blamed for driving up rents, pushing out permanent residents and changing the character of historic neighbourhoods. In response, local housing campaigners have taken direct action by sabotaging the lockboxes that give access to hundreds of these properties, making their opposition to the growth of short-term lets very clear.

Around 500 lockboxes giving access to these holiday apartments were sabotaged overnight with glue. They also covered them with stickers reading, in Spanish, 'Against the housing business'. The devices, installed on building entrances to allow self-check-in, were rendered unusable using a variety of methods. The Granada Housing Union has claimed responsibility, saying it has moved onto the offensive against what it calls the 'business of housing'.

💥Desde el Sindicato de Vivienda pasamos a la ofensiva. Que se acabe la impunidad de quienes hacen negocio con la vivienda.

💪Lucha con nosotras. Organízate en el Sindicato.

👀Estate atenta a las calles y a las redes. Este 14 de marzo pasamos a la acción. pic.twitter.com/CkrJWtcCWR

— Sindicato de Vivienda de Granada (@SVGranada) February 27, 2026

The action focused on the historic Albaicín area, the Realejo area, and the city centre. These areas have the highest number of tourist flats, and residents have long complained about rising rents, the loss of permanent neighbours, and changes to local shops and services.

Campaigners say official regulations are not enough to control short-term lets, with enforcement often weak and penalties rarely applied. Since the start of 2025, the Junta de Andalucía has cancelled 13,037 tourist rental registrations across the region, including 2,138 in Granada province, 1,198 of them in the city itself.

Meanwhile, the Association of Tourist Homes and Rural Accommodation of Granada (Avitar Granada) condemned the sabotage as a 'wave of vandalism', estimating the damage at more than €4,000. They stressed that most affected properties belong to small landlords, self-employed people and local families running legal businesses.

Tourists have ended up paying the price too. The protest is really aimed at mass tourism and how it's being handled by the authorities, not the people visiting Granada. Many holidaymakers found themselves locked out of flats they had booked, caught up in a bigger fight over rising rents.

Avitar Granada has urged owners to report incidents to the National Police, and has called for an immediate investigation, and demanded more night-time policing in affected areas. They also want public support from authorities to prevent the social stigma being placed on legal property owners and tourists visiting the city.

Image: SVGranada