British tourists visiting Spain this summer could struggle to secure accommodation after the Spanish government launched a crackdown on holiday rentals.

Residential communities in Spain are now allowed to bar individual property owners from using their apartment as a holiday let under new legislation that came into force this month.

The law means that holiday rentals could be banned from a single apartment complex if 60 per cent of property owners vote to ban them over noise concerns or other forms of disruption.

Spain’s Left-wing government has also threatened massive fines against holiday platforms, including AirBnb, for hosting properties that do not comply with licencing rules.

Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, has put pressure on local authorities in so-called “high-tension areas”, such as Malaga and Barcelona, to enforce limits on the number of legitimate tourism rentals they allow in their cities.

The government is clamping down on holiday lets in response to a surge in house prices and rents, which have doubled in less than a decade in some tourism hotspots. A lack of housing prompted major protests across Spain last year, such as the Canary Islands and Mallorca.

Spain’s major cities were hit by protests once again this summer. On April 5, thousands took to the streets across 40 cities to demand lower rents and for tighter restrictions on holiday rentals.