Since the summer when the regulation governing tourist-use housing took effect in the Valencian Community, municipalities such as Benidorm and Alicante pressed the Generalitat to manage short-stay apartment regulation directly. This morning at Fitur, six municipalities — four of them in the Alicante area — joined a signing between the regional administration and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces to implement the transfer of powers.
At Fitur, the mayors of Alicante, Luis Barcala; Elche, Pablo Ruz; Benidorm, Toni Pérez; Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón; Castellón, Begoña Carrasco; and the Valencia city councillor Paula Llobet attended, along with the FVMP president Juan Manuel Cerdán and, from the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón and the head of the tourism department, Marián Cano. The gathering underscored a shift toward a more centralized handling of short-term rental regulation and enforcement.
With this move, the municipalities of Alicante, Elche, Torrevieja and Benidorm take a leading role in confronting illegal tourist apartments. The agreement highlights a problem that grips the sector, since Valencia shares most of the licensing activity in the region. Tourism authorities frame the alliance as a unified front to curb a phenomenon that has provoked neighborhood protests and coincides with rising anti-tourism sentiment in some communities.
The talk of Fitur aligned with the broader policy objective: to ensure that licensing, inspection, and enforcement activities are coherent across the most affected urban areas, reducing the uneven competitive landscape created by unregistered units and non-compliant operators. This coordinated approach aims to reassure residents while maintaining a healthy tourism sector.
Lack of Inspections
Municipalities like Benidorm were especially eager to tackle perhaps the weakest link in the enforcement chain: inspections, since rigorous checks can tarnish a city’s image and fuel unfair competition. In parallel, Alicante observed growth in tourist apartments in certain neighborhoods, which threatened the viability of local businesses that are developing around these establishments.
From the Tourism Department, last year’s inspections doubled, rising 34 percent compared with 2023. Although year-end figures are provisional, a total of 711 inspections were recorded through December, up from 527 the previous year. (Source: Generalitat Valenciana)
According to the 2024 volume of registered apartments, Alicante accounted for 48 percent of inspections, Valencia for 43 percent, and Castellón for 9 percent. The totals cover not only individual homes but also apartment blocks and the management companies behind them. (Source: Conselleria de Turismo)
Officials noted that for the Alicante and Valencia cities, the inspection regime remains a critical tool to preserve orderly development and protect legitimate operators from unfair competition. Still, the numbers suggest substantial room for growth in enforcement to keep pace with market dynamics. (Source: Generalitat Valenciana)
In response, regional authorities are reinforcing training for inspectors and expanding coverage in high-activity districts, hoping to deter illegal practices before they become entrenched in the market. The aim is to map risk areas and prioritize inspections where violations are most likely to occur, aligning with broader consumer protection and neighborhood peace initiatives. (Source: Conselleria de Turisme)
From the Generalitat Valenciana, the forecast is to continue expanding inspection activity into 2025, with a focus on high-demand tourist corridors and peri-urban districts that have seen a surge in registered units. Local leaders stress that a rigorous regime not only sustains fair competition but also helps maintain the quality expectations that travelers rely on when choosing a destination. (Source: Generalitat Valenciana)
Registry Cleanup
The Fitur pledge came not long after the Conselleria, now led by Marián Cano, announced that the registry cleanup of VUT in the Valencian Community would be completed by the end of January. The update had been underway for months, and the Tourism department’s latest projections suggested removing more than 37,000 entries. Initially, this would involve more than 35 percent of the total registrations, reflecting an aggressive effort to purge obsolete or non-compliant records.
As of December 18, 2024, the official census stood at 101,205 registrations, with more than 47,000 flagged as having some deficiency. While these figures are provisional, they indicate that nearly half of the tourist housing entries lacked essential elements such as a cadastral registry number, a certificate of urban compatibility, or active operation. The registry is considered a dynamic tool, with ongoing adjustments as 2025 approaches. (Source: Generalitat Valenciana)
Tourism officials note that the registry evolution shows a downward correction path for entries that fail to meet basic criteria, while recognizing that some high-activity areas may still register new units that require closer oversight. Official data reveal that the bulk of new registrations in the first nine months of the year occurred in Alicante Province, with 7,394, compared to 2,129 in Valencia and 1,515 in Castellón. As plans for 2025 unfold, authorities anticipate continued refinement of the registry to better reflect legitimate activity and compliance. (Source: Dirección General de Turismo)