Financial
Rental
In recent months, there has been resentment in several places in Spain (Barcelona, Alicante, the Canary Islands, Malaga, etc.) about the rental of holiday apartments.
Reason
The reasons for this are well known; for example, short-term rentals drive up prices on the housing market and lead to mass tourism, which in turn is detrimental to the quality of life in a city. For this reason, regional governments have started measures to limit and sometimes even prohibit the rental of holiday apartments. In Barcelona, for example, the approximately 10,000 permits will be withdrawn by 2028.
Our regional government, the Valencian Community, will also soon approve a package of measures that should ensure greater control over holiday apartments and improve safety.
Some of the measures being taken are:
- The coveted ‘licencia turística’ (rental license required to officially use an apartment for holiday rental) is no longer transferable when selling the apartment. Previously, the license went with the apartment, but from now on it is no longer the case and the buyer must apply for a new license – if the ‘comunidad’ still allows it.
- Ban on key boxes for the collection and return of keys. This way, tenants had access to the keys with a code and there was actually no direct contact between tenant and landlord. From now on, a reception service is required to check the identity of the guests and to assist if necessary.
- Mandatory registration: all tourist accommodations must register with the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional. The identity of all tenants aged 16 and over must be provided.
- Ban on butane gas. Only electrical appliances or appliances that use mains gas are still allowed. So no more butane gas for heating appliances or cooking.
- To rent a property for a period of 10 days or less, it is necessary to have a tourist permit. If the stay is longer than 11 days, it is not necessary to have a permit. A rental contract must be drawn up.
- It is not necessary to choose one or the other modality (so not OR short term with license OR long term without license). You only need to know that if the rental is less than 11 days, you need a tourist license, otherwise not.
- I have 2 properties within the same complex, can I rent them both out? As long as both properties have their respective tourist permits, they can be rented out, regardless of whether they are in the same complex.
- You cannot live in the house yourself and rent out a part. The houses are rented as a whole, not per room (this is for tourist rental, i.e. shorter than 11 days).
