The Junta de Andalucía has approved a new regulation on housing for tourist use, which leaves in the hands of municipalities the possibility of establishing limitations on this type of accommodation, either from the urban planning point of view or through ordinances. It does, however, ask for "proportionality" and that "free competition" be guaranteed.
The autonomous government has updated the legislation on tourist apartments, updating the last regulation, which dated from 2016, from the socialist era. It is, therefore, the first regulation of the PP, approved by the Governing Council last January 29 and published in the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA) on February 2. It will come into force on the 23rd of this month.
The decree includes new features, although perhaps the most important is that it grants the municipalities the power to establish limitations or prohibitions, both urban and in terms of coexistence.According to the text, it will be "the municipalities that determine the specific territorial and urban development compatibility requirements for the development of this activity, as the closest Administration to reality".
And it adds that it is through "urban planning instruments or municipal ordinances" that limitations can be introduced. However, the regulation makes it clear that the principles of "proportionality, objectivity, necessity and legal certainty" must be taken into account. It also warns that the limitations or prohibitions made by the municipalities must "be subject to strict scrutiny from the perspective of guaranteeing the market and competition".
"Such necessary municipal intervention cannot be aimed at the exclusion of European and national regulations guaranteeing free competition and provision of economic activities," the rule details. On the contrary, these possible restrictions must "enable the effective reconciliation of the lawful economic activity of short-term vacation rental with the organization of the internal regime of the city according to its particular circumstances".
That is, the Board opens the door to the municipalities to regulate or may limit the number or even prohibit in some areas, housing for tourist use, but with all these caveats.
Other novelties
The decree also establishes for the first time the figure of the operating company, which will serve to identify the service provider beyond who owns the apartment. In addition, it reflects a series of habitability conditions that must be met by these dwellings in order to guarantee quality standards for tourists. For example, it is established that these accommodations must have two bathrooms if the number of beds is more than five and three bathrooms if the number of beds is more than eight. It also includes the need for ventilation to the outside or ventilated patio in bedrooms and living rooms, as well as window darkening systems. Another aspect that is regulated is that the users will have the right to occupy the accommodation from 3:00 p.m. on the first day of the contracted period until 11:00 a.m. on the day of departure.
Tourist apartments in Marbella
According to the last data facilitated by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Marbella is, with 6.540, the fourth municipality of Spain with more tourist housings. It appears only behind Madrid (14,133), Barcelona (7,531) and Malaga (6,550). With this regulation, the door is opened to a possible ordinance in Marbella and also to an urban regulation at a time when the new planning is being developed.
