Avoiding speculation is one of the goals the Consell cites as it drafts a new law to regulate tourist-use housing. The proposed rules would cause licenses for these properties to lapse when a property is sold, forcing the new owner to reapply for permission.
Nuría Montes, the councilor for Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, announced in the Cortes that the plan ties the right to a tourist-use license to the owner. This aims to curb the market speculation that drives up prices when a home with an existing permit changes hands.
She explained that the department is also working to simplify administrative procedures. In particular, to prevent bottlenecks in city halls when issuing compatibility reports for urban planning, these reports could be substituted or complemented by inputs from collaborating urban-planning entities, similarly to other licenses such as building permits.
The tourism chief noted that Valencia currently employs 11 inspectors. Nevertheless, inspections have intensified, totaling 1,230 in 2023 compared with 505 the previous year.
In the same vein, the new law will introduce innovative measures in the realm of artificial intelligence and cooperation with other administrations and agencies to vigorously tackle the underground economy, ensuring adequate human and material resources to enforce compliance.
The law, expected to be approved before the summer, aims to keep tourist housing as a fundamental element of the local tourism ecosystem, alongside other forms of accommodation.
Valencia estimates about 120,000 tourist homes operate in the community, with a warning that the actual number marketed through platforms could be two or more times higher than official figures.
It was also stated that daily listings for renting rooms inside tourist housing are marketed as tourist accommodations, a practice described as strictly prohibited and never allowed under Valencian regulations. All such violations will be pursued.
Facing this situation, the new law seeks to curb the underground economy without penalizing tourist housing that forms part of the tourism model. It will establish a general framework granting municipalities significant autonomy to adopt measures, considering every option.
Some municipalities may prefer not to ban outright but to limit, freeze, or refuse new licenses if they believe capacity has already been reached.
Criticism
The Montes announcement arrives amid controversy over tourist housing, with early protests in Alicante and criticisms from the PSPV towards the Tourism Department for not activating existing mechanisms. A Socialist deputy announced a motion to plan and ease current tensions through a supervisory table on intrusiveness in the sector, which has not met for a year despite calls for public-private collaboration. The deputy also recalled that the Consell can rely on other instruments, such as the Tourism Resources Planning Plan and the Tourism Urban Intervention Plan, which should assess carrying capacity, neighborhood or city profiles, and resource management to be incorporated into general plans.
Montes responded by noting the Consell has been requesting a Sectoral Conference on Tourist Housing from the central government for almost a year without an answer.
She added that since the start of the current legislature in July of the previous year, the priority has been addressing illegal lodging in tourist housing, a nationwide issue requiring cooperation among communities. The aim is to tackle it collectively across all regions.
Sectoral Meeting
She reminded critics that talks with all autonomous communities about this problem have been sought for about a year, with no response from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism yet.
It should be remembered that last February Montes again requested the establishment of an exclusive sectoral tourism table on tourist housing during a meeting with other communities to align on a road map in light of European rules in this area.
Montes noted that exchanges on tourist housing with the European Union were agreed, but no action has followed. She added that the ministry has yet to develop the platform and system that would allow platform controls under European regulations to curb the underground tourism economy.
Additionally, the councilor criticized the new secretary of State for Tourism for not sending even a WhatsApp message since taking office last April.
She emphasized that the new law under finalization includes measures aimed at curbing speculation in housing approved for tourist use.