A judge in Madrid has ordered the closure of 10 tourist flats in a single building in the city centre after a landmark ruling that said “the illicit and unsanitary activities” taking place in them had inflicted psychological damage on a neighbouring family and violated their fundamental right to privacy.

The family, who have two children and who have not been named, said they had suffered stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation because of the loud, drunken, destructive and lewd behaviour of guests, which included vandalism, vomiting and having sex in the block’s communal areas.