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The government in Catalonia has passed a new law this week requiring all home owners who wish to rent their property to tourists to apply for a special licence within a period of five years. Anyone who fails to do so won’t be able to let their apartments or houses to holidaymakers.

 

As is the case in many regions of Spain, the Barcelona housing market is becoming increasingly stressed, with more and more flats being designated for tourist use and not enough homes available for local residents. The new regulations aim to relieve this pressure.

 

Going forward, town and city councils will only be allowed to grant new tourist licences if they can show there is enough land for permanent housing. Anyone who is already renting their property to holidaymakers will have five years to apply for formal permission but if this is denied, they will be forced to close the business.

 

However, owners may request an extension of another five years if they prove that they cannot compensate for property losses due to the loss of the license.

 

Homes that operate without permission will be violating the regulations and the government has assured that there will be serious sanctions, although it has not specified what they will be.

 

 

The regulations include a list of 262 municipalities where the law will be applied and of these, 134 have a noticeable imbalance between tourist accommodation and regular rental properties.

 

Ideally, the government would like no more than 5 tourist properties for every 100 inhabitants, but it will allow city councils to grant licences for a maximum of 10 homes per 100 people.

 

In order to obtain a licence, the tourist accommodation must be fully furnished and consist of the entire home, not just one room.

 

 

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