The arrangement of tourist rental rooms in private homes, commonly referred to as shared homes, has emerged only in recent years and remains a topic of lively debate. A regional association that represents hosts, ViA, sought judicial review to challenge a decree and secured a court ruling in its favor on certain points. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia decided to annul portions of Decree 75/2020 from Turisme de Catalunya due to issues in its administrative process. Government sources stressed that the ruling is not final and that an appeal would be lodged to protect the ongoing validity of the regulations while this matter is resolved. City authorities also underscored the intent to keep the matter temporary as the debate about hosting travelers continues through the summer period.
In Catalonia, the shared housing model was later incorporated into the tourism framework, though with ongoing scrutiny. Shared housing refers to renting rooms in private residences for short stays, a practice the City Council of Barcelona has resisted strongly, describing it as a form of communal living. Ultimately, the regulatory approach limited this activity to operators who previously held licenses for tourist apartments in the city and who chose to discontinue that activity in favor of room rentals. In practice, many interpret the measure as effectively prohibiting the activity, since it excludes traditional home-based hosts who rent rooms but does not wholly empower the existing apartment rental sector.
The consortium framed the decision as a step toward addressing perceived illegality and as an opening for further regulation. Political partners from the governing coalition were engaged in discussions aimed at clarifying local implementation.
ViA notes that changes to the draft Legislative Decree No. 75/2020, dating back to 2017, were substantial and that the proposal did not undergo a public hearing before its approval in 2020. Conversations between the Generalitat’s Tourism Department and the city council were essential enough to revisit the prior process, signaling a push for greater local input during rulemaking.
Tourism stakeholders told this newspaper that the current regulatory posture remains unsettled and would not be altered by the imprecise provisions under dispute. They suggested that the questions at hand are administrative in nature and could be corrected without affecting the recognition of activities and the regulatory framework established by individual municipalities.
The Barcelona City Council described the ruling as not final and indicated that it would be reviewed by municipal authorities, with expectations that the Generalitat would continue to advance the matter. Local powers to regulate tourist accommodation in private residences and in shared housing are anchored in the Catalan Tourism Law and its provisions allowing city councils to craft planning tools and set precise requirements for these activities under current law. The Special Urban Plan for Tourist Accommodations (PEUAT) has recently seen updates as part of these regulatory efforts.
ViA maintains that renting rooms in private homes serves many residents who rely on this income to meet monthly expenses. Critics argue that the practice has lost its distinct character in the drive toward professionalization, and concerns persist about coexistence and the potential impact on housing markets, including the perception that larger owners are favored and more than 9,000 properties are now classified under this modality in the city of Barcelona.
Tarín, ViA’s representative, stresses that the association intends to pursue provisional execution of the ruling, while the court’s decision remains pending. He advocates for ongoing collaboration between the Conselleria d’Empresa i Treball and the General Directorate of Tourism to pursue a new section of the decree that guarantees citizen participation, legal certainty, and compliance with current norms. Without such adjustments, there is a risk that penalties against hosts who continue to welcome travelers in their homes could be reversed in the future if justice ultimately validates those concerns.