Luxury illegal tourist apartments operating on Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia are now using artificial intelligence to hide from city inspectors. Municipal inspectors are investigating the suspected expansion of this illegal rental operation along the city’s most prestigious boulevard.

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The group presents itself as a respectable company but is allegedly running an extensive subletting scheme.

Illegal Tourist Apartments: Key Details

How AI Hides Luxury Illegal Tourist Apartments The network’s new tactic involves using AI to alter photographs in their listings. Previously, inspectors could identify properties by matching interior photos with visible street views from the windows.

This represents a novel trick in Barcelona’s ongoing battle against unlicensed tourist flats. Inspectors note that until now, they had only encountered such AI-altered photos in one other case.

Other evidence led inspectors to a building near the start of Passeig de Gràcia. There, they found two segregated dwellings and encountered a person described as the alleged mastermind of the operation.

The inspectors couldn’t speak to the other people present-the supposed athletes. WhatsApp messages obtained by the newspaper reveal the network’s caution.

Multi-Million Euro Operation Defies Fines Despite ongoing investigations, inspectors haven’t yet been able to start sanction proceedings for these specific properties.

However, for other flats linked to the network on Passeig de Gràcia, Avinguda Diagonal.Ronda Sant Pere, the council has already initiated five sanction procedures. Each carries a fine of €60,000.

These substantial penalties don’t seem to deter the operation, which generates clearly million-euro revenues. Lawyer Marta Martín, representing the owner of two sublet flats, argues that stopping such networks requires intervention from other authorities.

“We’re not talking about a mere breach of a rental contract,” Martín emphasises. “These are flats owned by people who were deceived.

The network also reportedly uses sports societies instead of commercial companies to make it harder to trace the money. Not all city councils apply the same pressure on illegal tourist accommodation as Barcelona does.

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