Spain is cracking down on illegal tourist flats across the country, issuing nearly ￡1 million in fines to landlords.

       A total of 10 owners of these properties have been handed down €80,000 (￡68,000) fines each in Palma, Majorca alone.

       The apartments on Calle Gaspar Bennazar did not have the proper license to be run as holiday homes and now must not be rented out to anyone else.

       Majorca Council's tourism department issued the fines following a protest outside the block of flats last summer. Now, inspectors are due to check the closure of the flats has been properly enforced, and if not, it'll be dealt with by the prosecutor's office.

       The island's head of tourism, Jose Marcial Rodriguez Diaz, said the fines came after "long work" as his department "scrupulously complied with all administrative processes".

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       It's not yet known whether all the properties are owned by the same person or company, but this is not the first time flats in the building have been fined.

       In August, fines totalling €960,000 (￡811,000) were issued to 12 flats in the same Calle Gaspar Bennazar building in the north of Palma. Just months later in November, another seven flats saw similar fines.

       Figures show that there were only 621 properties in Palma with the correct licences to be rented to tourists last autumn, and authorities are now concerned about the rise of Airbnb allowing illegal properties to slip through the cracks.

       Majorca has claimed at least 70% of Airbnb holiday rentals on the island are illegal, and Mr Diaz said this creates unfair competition and "a terrible problem for coexistence, which is something we want to stop".

       Fines for illegally renting out a property in Majorca start at €40,001 (￡34,000) and go all the way up to €400,000 (￡338,000).

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       In mainland Spain, authorities said last week that a shocking 73% of tourist flats in Alicante are illegal following a 23% increase in flats being rented out via the internet in the last year.

       The study by the city council found aroud 3,555 tourist homes in Alicante, 2,596 of which are advertised on Airbnb without the proper documentation from the Vlancian government.

       The council has also approved a ban on new holiday home rental licences that could last up to two years, providing an opportunity to review and refine the current regulations.

       Rocío Gómez, the area’s urban planning councillor, said: "We aim to purify all those homes that do not comply with the regulations."