Further reform of tourism legislation is to be considered by the Balearic parliament. Modifications of holiday rentals regulations that are scheduled for approval in the summer relate to properties that can only be rented out for a maximum of sixty days per annum. One is that it will be permitted to rent out bedrooms as opposed to whole apartments or houses. The other has to do with how the sixty days are to be used.
The tourism director-general, Antoni Sansó, says that it will not be possible to rent out for a few days or for alternate weeks; the letting will have to be for whole months. The owner of the property, the one who holds the DRIAT registration for tourist activity, will need to give notification as to which months. Once this is received, it cannot be changed. Properties falling under the sixty-day rule have to be the principal personal residence and never a second residence; all types of property are eligible - apartments or houses.
The stipulation of a month is, according to Sansó, for security and tax reasons. Once notification is given, the Tax Agency can then calculate how much tourist tax will be required; this varies whether it is in the main or low season. As for security, the names of tourists have to be provided to the police.
The sixty-day rule is to apply to newly licensed holiday rentals in parts of Majorca deemed to be saturated. These include specific resorts - Arenal (in Llucmajor), Magalluf, Paguera, Palmanova and Santa Ponsa - and certain towns such as Alcudia, Pollensa and Soller. Whether sixty days or all year, apartment rentals will need majority approvals from owners' communities.
This next round of reform is still dependent on the final version of the Council of Majorca's zoning map. This may be subject to alteration once there is approval of the PIAT plan for intervention in tourist areas. This is expected some time next month.
In Palma, where the town hall has been undertaking its own zoning separate to the Council of Majorca's, the results of this are anticipated later this month.
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I know of at least one apartment still advertised on Home Away. This apartment does not of a license, it is not a main home, and it is booked out to tourists from now until November.
Jim - it's total chaotic rubbish as can be expected from the tourist minister and her government. As you see all us regular commentators are still trying to make sense of it all - to no avail. Don't worry about the threat of inspectors - invite your friends to stay and enjoy what is still worth enjoying here in spite of the controls. I'm sure Sra. Busquets will not be off to the police station with passports and tourist tax collected - that is if she is generous enough to invite any of her relatives and friends to stay! (Probably the only one would be Biel Barceló). And even Stalin could invite friends to have a holiday at his dacha.
That’s the whole point Jim, with touristic rental a licence fee must be paid plus tourist tax and possibly income tax is due whereas seasonal workers may only attract income tax for the homeowner.(no licence required). They are really trying to squeeze the residents hard. A licence fee for touristic rental of an qualfying apartment is rumoured to be €1000 per annum for a 5 year licence.For us Apartment owners it’s either yes or no for a licence then join the queue. Anyway you seem to have a good deal going with your friend so enjoy your stress free holidays.
Ok. Still can't get my head around it. In paragraph 3 it states they can work out what tourist tax needs to be paid. If it's seasonal workers surely tourist tax is not due. I'm either more unintelligent than I thought or it's all as clear as mud.
Jim, the first paragraph states that they are only referring to residents who wish to rent out rooms in saturated zones not “whole apartments or houses”. These residents will be allowed to apply for a DRIAT Licence for touristic activity (eg AirBnB) which will allow them to make their rooms available for the maximum of 60 days with the minimum rental period of 30 days. Remember they are trying to encourage homeowners to rent to seasonal workers for the whole season with no restrictions. Apartment owners in saturated zones will not be allowed to apply for a licence but those in non saturated zones will be able to apply for a touristic licence providing there is consent from a simple majority of owners. The only rider is that if an apartment block has residents then it can be deemed residential and touristic rental will not be granted. The problem with these articles is that often the meaning is lost in translation but its should be understood that touristic rental of spare rooms and holiday rental of apartments are covered by separate parts of the proposed new holiday rentals legislation.It would appear that upsetting residents, non residents, businesses and visitors is the main thrust of the new laws whilst at the same time protecting the monoploy of the hoteliers.
Bunyolaboy.. you say many are confusing the 60 day rule with the proposed tourist leglislation. Yet again I am confused as the article states ."The sixty-day rule is to apply to newly licensed holiday rentals in parts of Majorca deemed to be saturated."
Well,it's still about as clear as mud.
What a pig's ear of complex legislation! The Hoteliers who run this island must be rubbing their hands with joy.
I think many are confusing the 60 day rule with the new proposed legislation on holiday rental of apartments. Historically residents were allowed to rent rooms out to seasonal workers to subsidise their income, however with the arrival of AirBnB many residents found they could generate a better return by renting to tourists. This had a massive impact on the ability of seasonal workers to find reasonably priced accommodation so it was decided to limit the way residents rent out their spare rooms. The rental of apartments to tourists is a different matter and it would seem there is little chance of any quick resolution this year. It will be interesting to see the length of the licensing process with the anticipated rush of applications. I have an apartment that I have rented it out previously and will be waiting for more clarity before offering it again. I’m surprised that many are still advertising despite not having a licence with the belief that stating that all guests are friends and family will go unchallenged. It doesn't take much imagination to realise all an inspector has to do is make an enquiry by email to see the difficulty many could find themselves in. Whilst large internet companies can afford to challenge fines I doubt the average advertiser would find it quite so easy. Anyone booking an apartment has to understand there is no guarantee it will be available should the inspectors start carrying out their threats to clamp down on illegal holiday apartment rental this year. I really hope that business manage to survive what could be a very difficult season.
So owner move out for two months find somewhere to live themselves for the two months, find 2 renters who would like to rent the property for one month each. The way this lot work they probably define a month as 31 days !!!