Spanish Government to launch new Law for Tourist Rental Properties

In January 2015 Andalucía's autonomous government will introduce a new law that aims to end unfair competition for the country's legitimate tourist rental properties and hotel sector. Too many private landlords, it seems, are letting out their holiday homes for profit without paying taxes on the revenue they generate or adhering to health and safety legislation that was designed to keep tourists safe in the accommodation they book.

Weeding out the Bad Eggs of the Costa del Sol's Tourism Sector

The two main objectives are that Spain's government wants to end unfair competition for hotels and other legitimate holiday rental enterprises, from guesthouses and B&Bs to private landlord rentals of apartments and villas and to keep tourists coming to Spain safe in their holiday accommodation.

Rafael Rodríguez, the Minister for Tourism and Commerce, revealed that the "III Plan de Calidad" is a project that aims to regulate the use of holiday accommodation let to tourists. The much-discussed project is expected to be approved in January and aims to curb the number of illegally let out rental properties in Andalucía.

“The decree is important as much of the tourist industry is operating underground, illegally. This will bring it to the surface and prevent unfair competition and damage to legally operating companies,” said Minister Rodríguez.

Andalucía's regional government hopes this move will also expose the extent of this black economy. Holiday home owners with a property in Marbella at the Costa del Sol for example who want to let their property to tourists for part of the year, either per night or per week, will now be required to register their properties with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía.

While at present it has only been confirmed that this new legislation will affect Andalucía, the Spanish Tourist Board met in Madrid on 18th November to discuss this very same subject. Every autonomous region of Spain sent a representative to the meeting which aimed to find a better way of regulating tourist rental properties and coordinate efforts across the regions.

Another Bumper Year ahead

Although the property market is expected to pick up in 2015 with more new holiday apartment developments being sold off plan and existing housing stock to drop more significantly that it has up to now, it is the tourism sector that has helped to improve the Spanish economy so far and even more good news is expected to follow.

Record numbers of holidaymakers visited Andalucía and the Balearics this year and holiday bookings for next year already suggests that another bumper year is ahead for Spain. Budget airlines are increasing the number of seats they are offering and the number of routes between European cities and Spain's airports.
Jet2Holidays is just one of several tour operators who have confirmed that they expect a 25% increase from British tourists for next year and their sister company, budget airline Jet2.com, also confirmed that this year's 9% increase in passenger numbers is expected to rise considerably for 2015.

Jet2.com is expecting to handle up to 80,000 British air passengers in 2015, a startling increase compared to the 55,000 UK passengers who flew with the budget carrier in 2014. The Costa del Sol is one of five principal holiday destinations in the world for the carrier and their tour operating counterpart.

The receiving agency on the Costa del Sol, NT Incoming, calculated that the economic impact tourism generated by Jet2.com and Jet2Holidays to the Costa del Sol will amount to approximately 935 million euros by the end of 2014.

With revenue numbers like these it is clear to see why the Spanish government is so keen to tighten holiday rentals regulations. A significant number of tourists book flights and accommodation independently, meaning they no longer use tour operators to find them hotels. Many tourists simply book their seats on budget airlines and choose to stay in privately rented villas and apartments. This black economy could be far larger than the government has realised.

For holiday home owners, who were thinking of cutting their annual property expenses in Marbella, Benehavis or Mijas by letting out their Costa del Sol holiday apartments or villas to tourists, January's new property legislation will ring in significant changes. Holiday home owners will now have to weigh up the benefits and disadvantages of doing so.