The regional government approved a draft new law which aims to regulate the holiday rentals on all the islands. It contains some very sensible measures which affect all owners who do rent out their property.
Under the current law it’s never possible to get a tourist rental license for an apartment or attached house. However, property owners choose massively to ignore these regulations. We do receive many requests from potential buyers that have the idea to rent out an apartment for touristic purposes. Unfortunately, we do have to point out that this is illegal….at the moment. Will the new draft Balearic law offer any better news for this type of buyer?
1. Tourist Rentals in attached properties
The new draft law, known as “Proyecto de ley de Alquiler Turistico” will give the community of owners in each building the right to decide if holiday rentals are allowed in the building or not. House owners will need the majority of the votes to approve renting out for touristic purposes. To apply for a tourist license, owners will need independent electricity and water meters.
Municipalities will get more power
The municipalities will gain more power to zone areas for residents and tourists. The regional Balearic government has decided to do so, but the local authority – Consell Insular (Island Authority) – is very much against it as they have just started putting groups of informants together to help identify illegal holiday rentals and tell owners that they are breaking the law. This local decision will be crucial for future developments in the short- and long-term rental market.
Next to this, there is a constant ‘fight’ between the left-wing Podemos and right-wing Partido Popular (PP). The opposition PP is more on the side of property owners who do want to rent out while Podemos would rather track down and fine everyone who is breaking the law and ban tourist rentals from apartment-zones.
One could conclude that the general aim is to allow for tourist rentals in areas where there is less demand for primary and relatively affordable housing. Looking at the current situation where almost everyone is ignoring regulations, it seems to change for the best. Well, that is if PP and Podemos will come to an agreement….
