A new law for tourist rentals in the Communidad Valencia
24 Aug
Spain has more and more regulations regarding tourist rental properties. After the new guidelines in the Costa Brava and Costa del Sol earlier this year, a very important change has now also been made in the Comunidad Valenciana, which includes the provinces of Alicante (Costa Blanca), Castelon and Valencia.
New holiday rental law in Communidad Valencia.
Since 2 August 2024, a new tourism rental law has been in force in the Comunidad Valenciana, the region comprising the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon. The new law includes:
- The property may NOT be rented to the same person or family for more than 10 days at a time, 10 days is the maximum stay.
- It IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RENT A PART OF A PROPERTY. This includes renting out rooms, renting out basements in villas, even if they are fully equipped and have separate entrances, you MUST rent out the whole property. So the owners living upstairs and the cellar being rented out is no longer possible.
- When sold, therenting licence can NOT be transferred, the new owner must apply for his own licence.
- The licence must berenewed every 5 years.
The renewal must be submitted to the municipality no later than one month before the end of the 5-year term, which will re-evaluate the application. - A declaration from the owners' association giving permission to rent for tourists is necessary when applying for the licence.
- keys must NOT be left in lockers outside the property (some people do this for villas and have lockers on their outside walls), there must be a service for receiving and handing over keys.
- Owners MUST take out third-party liability insurance, not just buildings insurance.
What must a tourist rental property legally comply with?
In addition to the above rules, the holiday home itself must also meet a number of asis requirements.
- You should provide your holidaymakers with a phone number available 24 hours a day, emergency numbers (police, doctors, health centre ....) & maps with locations
- An evacuation plan in case of fire/emergency situations should be posted near the entrance door.
- The building MUST have an elevator if the apartement being rented is on the 4th floor.
- There MUST be at least air conditioning (hot and cold) in the living/dining room.
- There MUST be an internet connection unless the property is in an area where there is no internet.
- There MUST be a first-aid box in the property.
- You must clearly indicate the voltage in the property. Indicated per socket or clearly visible for the whole property.
- The property must have a washing machine, fridge, iron, oven/microwave, extractor & a TV.
There are other rules, but common sense says you should provide bedding, towels, .... knives, forks.
Fines
The new law introduces fines for non-compliance, ranging from €10,000 to €600,000, depending on the severity of the offence. Fines may be imposed for failing to correctly state the exact location and registration details of the property in advertisements, failing to report property transfers, or illegally offering tourist rooms or properties.
Existing tourism licences.
The new law is effective from 2 August 2024. There are three types of transitional arrangements for existing rental licences:
- For homes licensed before July 1, 2018:They may keep their licence without any modifications.
- For homes licensed between July 7, 2018 and the introduction of the new law:They may keep their licence, but must comply with new requirements within five years and renew their licence before 2030.
- For new homes after the new law is introduced:They must comply with the new rules immediately and renew their approval and other documentation every five years.
Rent from 11 days.
The above guidelines relate specifically to the new law introduced for the autonomous region of Comunidad Valenciana.This refers to tourist rentals for 10 days or less. This of course also openspossibilitiesfor medium-term rentals, which is now from11 days to 11 months. No specific licence is needed for this. The same naturally applies to long-term rentals from 11 months.
Offering a house or apartement for seasonal rental or long-term rental does have some conditions. Herewith the most important:
- The accommodation may not be transferred by property management companies for tourist use.
- The accommodation may not be made available to tourist users, whether or not they provide services typical of the hotel sector.
- Tourism marketing channels are not allowed. Tourism marketing is assumed when conducted through tour operators or other tourism sales or promotion channels, including the Internet or other new technological systems.
- When it comes to ‘tourism marketing channels’, we can say that these are the portals, websites, platforms or rental companies that promote tourism rentals. Therefore, hosting or promoting properties on these portals will give the impression of tourist rentals.
In contrast, it is important to understand that when a house being advertised for rental, and this is done on portals or platforms for the rental or sale of properties that have nothing to do with tourist rental, in such cases, it is not considered that there is a ‘tourist purpose’, and the properties are not considered to be properties for tourist use and consequently considered to be general rental properties.
Do you have more questions on this topic, or do you have another question or want advice on what is interesting now in this market as an investment and/or rental?
Contact us: info@akunas.com
Source: https://dogv.gva.es/es/resulta...
