The Balearic tourism ministry is processing 143 denunciations for illegal apartment holiday rentals that have been amassed over the first seven months of this year.
This figure has to be seen in the context of what are said to still be the high number of unlicensed properties and of the ministry's intentions to get tough through the levying of fines that can reach up to 40,000 euros in the case of individual owners and 400,000 euros for websites that carry adverts. The figure is therefore surprisingly low.
Another factor to be taken into account is the increased number of ministry inspectors - up six to fifteen - and what was understood to be their efforts in trawling through websites in order to identify illegal rentals. However, the inspectors have other tasks, such as checking on hotels and their legal levels of room occupancy and provision of all-inclusive offers.
The denuncias being acted upon are partly the result of inspectors' activities and also of reports submitted by email by members of the public.
Rather than there still being a high number of unlicensed properties, the relatively low figure for denuncias could in fact be a reflection of how many have been taken off the market.
