Date Published: 19/04/2024

Spain considers limiting vacation rental properties to 6-month licences

The government is consulting with industry representatives to curb the worrying rise of tourist apartments

The Ministry of Housing in Spain has been meeting with representatives of the tourist accommodation sector this week to study measures to tackle the increase in short-term holiday lets, which are growing almost unchecked in many Spanish holiday hotspots.

Vacation rental properties like Airbnbs must be registered as such according to Spain’s Law on Urban Leases (LAU), and cannot be used for permanent or long-term rentals. However, the reality is that many landlords are using short-term rental contracts to circumvent the restrictions that have been introduced under the recent Housing Law to protect tenants’ rights.

For that reason, the Ministry has set up its working group, and participants have already begun to put forward ideas on how to limit these vacation rentals.

Among the measures being considered to tackle the proliferation of temporary leases is a limitation of their status as Homes destined for Tourist Use to just six months or one year. They have also floated the possibility of forcing homeowners to justify the temporary nature of the lease and introducing rental contracts for short-term holiday lets, similar to those that currently exist for long-term rentals, with possible fines for those who do not comply.

However, not all those at the meeting agreed with the need to intervene in the tourist rental market. Representatives of small landlords associations claimed that having temporary contracts for vacation lets will not help to improve the situation of the rental housing market.

Since Spain’s new Housing Law was passed in 2023, the share of seasonal rental properties has skyrocketed in the Spanish property market to the detriment of long-term renters. In the first quarter of 2024, vacation rental apartments made up 11% of the housing market in the company, rising by 56% compared with the same period last year, according to data compiled by the real estate website idealista. Conversely, the supply of long-term rental homes fell by 15% in the same period.

The Ministry of Housing will continue to summon representatives of the sector to successive meetings to decide on any possible conclusions and action points for regulating the tourist rental market across Spain.

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