Big Spanish tourism companies have been putting pressure on the government for months and enacting real regulation against its proliferation. supply of illegal tourist apartments. In successive contacts with the executive, they demand state legislation that serves to enforce the regulations of autonomous communities and municipalities that have not actually been complied with to stop the new boom in tourist housing (VUT).
Perfect, lobby that brings together the thirty largest companies in the industry (among these Meliá, NH, Riu, Iberostar or Palladium)pressures the Government to take advantage of the Housing Act to stop the proliferation of illegal offers. Now he does not hide his “disappointment” and “confusion” because the proposed regulation agreed between the partners of the Coalition Executive (PSOE and Unidas Podemos) and the ERC and EH Bildu does not mention tourist rental at all and warns of its consequences, let the article go like this.
“It is essential that the future Housing Act does not exempt housing for tourist use. Otherwise, the spirit of the law promoting affordable rent will be deviated”, Exceltur’s vice president José Luis Zoreda warned in a press conference this Thursday. “It is a contradiction that the Housing Code does not mention touristic apartments. The law tries to provide the best rental conditions for citizens, but does not take into account the negative externalities caused by the uncontrolled growth in the tourist housing supply”.
Limit rent increases
From the lobby of the greats of the tourism industry, Future Housing Act could mean major transformation of rental apartments now Housing arrangements in areas that are considered to be under stress, such as city centers, are turning to the tourism business due to the traditional rental price increases, where most of the touristic apartments are located. Platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com.
“If no measures are taken, the rental offer will be a huge transfer to tourist apartments, which will have absolute price freedom and there will be no restrictions. We are concerned about this future differentiation Leand”, stressed Zoreda, confirming that he has contacted the Executive directly to address this issue.
“It is the key to rectifying that the Housing Code finally envisions principles that will facilitate the organization and compliance with the autonomous and local regulations of the VUT in the parliamentary process,” Exceltur explains in its latest quarterly report. “It promotes an expedited transfer of regulated residential homes and strikes other tourists subject to full price freedom, with the opposite effect of what the spirit of the law desires.”
Exceltur had asked the Manager to use the Housing Act (or approve one or more ad hoc decrees). Establishing a special legal regime for tourist-use residences and their contracts, Create obligations for online platforms to prevent illegal hospitality marketing and give more power to owner communities to put an end to this phenomenon. A new state legal framework to effectively comply with municipal and regional regulations that seek to provide coverage and stop the expansion of unregulated tourist apartments and are not followed in practice.
Moving the war to the EU
The lobby of large tourist groups also requests the Government to take advantage of these opportunities. Presidency of the Council of EuropeIt will hold it in the second half of this year to lead the debate about budding community regulation in the EU to regulate tourist rentals and defend its position as the main tourism destination on the continent.
The European Commission is working on a future regulation to expand the transparency requirements to digital platforms to end the illegal supply of tourist apartments, even proposing to create a register of property owners and homes where registration will be required in turn. touristic rental.
The government has promised the tourism giants strength in the fight against illegal housing. The executive took advantage of a conference Exceltur held a few weeks ago. Rosana Morillo, Minister of State for Tourism, guaranteed a “solid and strong position to support European policies to combat illegal accommodation offers that have social consequences and are degrading the Spanish brand in tourism”.