Spain to restrict holiday rentals?

At present, private property rented out to tourists on a short-term basis is a right for all owners under the law on residential rentals (LAU). But the new bill would see the regulation of all rentals handed down to the country’s 17 local authorities, some of which would seek to restrict the practice.

Photo credit: Falcon505

The Association of Holiday Rental Managers in Madrid (Asotur) labelled the draft law as a “blow against short-term holiday rentals”. “This is an attack on civil liberties, limiting the use of private property and the freedom of tourists to choose how they want to spend their holiday,” they told the Spanish press.

The Spanish government has said that the proliferation of private lettings, helped by the internet, has created “intrusion” and “disproportionate competition” for the tourist industry, reports Think Spain. If the law is passed, short-term letting that is considered “purely for tourism purposes” will be limited, meaning that only hotels and aparthotels will be able to let their properties out.

The Balearics and the Canaries already have their own local laws restricting holiday lettings, notes Spanish Property Insight. Homeowners in Catalonia have local laws to contend with too. But with many regional governments having no rules on rentals, thousands of homeowners will have to register to rent out their homes and comply with new laws.

“The passing of this law could deal a death blow to a growing sector that contributes enormously to the economy,” commented David Tornos, president of the tourist rental management association.

Richard Way, Editor at The Overseas Guides Company said: "The Spanish Government is close to changing legislation that gives all property-owners the right to let their property on a short-term basis, so that in future all holiday lets would need to be authorised - and have a licence granted by - the local regional government.

No Change has been made official yet, but some experts are viewing the news as a potentially severe blow to the recovering Spanish housing market, which has seen momentum build in recent months as international sales grew 17 per cent last year.

"Rental licences that already exist in some regions are typically only granted to properties that meet specific health and safety conditions, which might not be achievable by many properties,” commented Richard Way, Editor at The Overseas Guides Company.

However, other experts are less concerned about the regulations:

"I don’t think they are trying to stop people from renting their property, but instead trying to get an idea of the numbers involved. There is no way of regulating it unless there is some form of registration of the property in the first place and I think this is what they are hoping to achieve," Chris Mercer, director of Murcia based Mercers, told Property Wire.

"There is of course a possible positive to this, and that is if they are going to tax the owner then one would presume that any reasonable costs could be claimed/offset against that tax. At the end of the day, I think Spain will find it hard to police this new legislation, how could they possibly know, although there is rumour of the government asking for information from electricity companies if they see short term spikes and troughs in energy usage."

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