The Council of Mallorca's tourism department and agency for the defence of territory (ADT) have both confirmed that they have launched official investigations into a cabin on private forest land in Pollensa that was being advertised as a holiday rental on Airbnb. Following reports concerning this cabin on Thursday morning, the advert was taken down.
The tourism department's inspection service will be checking a possible infringement of the law governing holiday rentals. This could result in a fine of up to 20,001 euros.
The Council has reissued an appeal to the public to help stop illegal holiday rentals. "If any citizen is aware of or suspects any illegal offer in Mallorca, they can report it by email - inspeccioturisme@conselldemallorca.net. All complaints will be investigated."
The ADT has meanwhile opened a case of potential planning infringement. The agency is investigating the matter, as Pollensa town hall - like many other town halls - has transferred responsibility for building discipline on rustic land to the Council of Mallorca.
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This story intrigues me. Not that I'm questioning whether it's true or not, I'm sure it is. But it's not only difficult to advertise an illegal STR in Airbnb, but downright insane. 1) Anyone who advertises an unlicensed let on Airbnb is subject to getting absolutely clobbered by the authorities (up to 40 grand in fines). 2) To list a property on Airbnb in Mallorca requires submitting a licence number. Try it. 3) Can you put in an arbitrary licence number and Airbnb doesn't check it? It's dreadfully simple to check whether it's valid or not. 4) To obtain a licence, the property must be legally constructed and, registered with a cedula de habitabilidad. This one couldn't possibly meet that requirement. So, I'm wondering what slipped through the cracks here. This shouldn't have happened. And this owner is going to get severely clobbered for it. Sheer stupidity.