Tourism ministry inundated with holiday home registrations

The increase is being attributed to worries about being penalised for not complying with the law as well as to concerns regarding the establishment of a ceiling on the number of holiday rental places. By the end of July, 4,294 holiday properties had registered with the Tax Agency in the Balearics for payment of the tourist tax. It is thought that this figure is likely to increase in the next few months.

Owners who wish to rent their properties to tourists - single properties such as villas, that is - need to make a statement to the tourism ministry and pay a charge of some 25 euros per place. Once the statement is made, inspectors from the tourism ministry visit the property, though this process can take more than a year because of the sheer volume of requests that have been received in the past two years.

The draft of reformed legislation for holiday rentals is expected to be published later this month.