A process of cross-checking Tax Agency and island councils' data has revealed some 8,700 illegal holiday lets in the Balearics.
Last September, the government announced that there would be a sharing of data to find out if properties advertised on websites were registered for the payment of tourist tax.
Under a European ruling of April 2022, intermediaries (i.e. the websites) are obliged to provide tax information. And the process has been streamlined since September as the result of an agreement between the Balearic government and Booking.com. This was before new EU regulations related to transparency of short-term rental accommodation.
The trawl of data has detected properties for which the tourist tax is paid but are not registered with the island councils. There are also those properties that are registered but for which the tax isn't paid.
The figure of 8,700 isn't definitive as an estimate for Ibiza has been made based on extrapolating data for the other islands; the Ibiza data are still being analysed. It is also not definitive because, as the government is well aware, there are properties that aren't advertised on websites such as AirBnB and Booking. There are clearly properties that are neither registered nor pay tourist tax.
The councils are responsible for the sanctioning of illegal holiday lets.
The 8,700, it has to be said, are way lower than the 235,000 that the housing minister, Marta Vidal, said there were last October, a number that was highly questionable to say the least.
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I'd love to know the exact definition of an "illegal" let. Presumably it extends to having extended family and friends coming to stay in your absence, and making a contribution towards upkeep, utilities or just leaving a tgdnk-you gift? What about house swap websites? Just asking for a friend!
Lisa JuliaAn Airbnb listing without an ETV doesn't mean they don't have one. Especially the older listings, which previously never had a licence field in the listing. Nor were required to fill it in. And most listings are older, because there haven't been any new licences for years. And neither Expedia (VRBO, FerienWohnung, HomeAway, et al) nor Booking.com even have that field or require proof of licencing. That still doesn't mean they're all illegal. But some could be. Secondly, 8700 of them? That's larger than all of Airbnb or any of the other STR platforms' Balearic catalogues. It would suggest that the vast majority are illegal. And therefore, any 10 year old should be able to take down a few hundred per day. And that would mean really huge money for the government. Something just doesn't add up here.
Oh for God’s sake it’s not rocket science. Go on Airbnb, scroll down to the ETV number - then check it. Simples! Oh and if it’s a caravan, single room, party house or super cheap - then it’s defo illegal.
I think they just make up these numbers. How difficult can it be? They have all the data they’d ever need to get an accurate picture and more importantly take action. ETV licence Tourist tax registration Guardia Civil registration Annual income tax declarations Then cross-reference to registrations on Airbnb, Booking, Verbo or whatever. Most guests won’t realise it but booking an illegal rental means you’re uninsured.
This one is always a bit of a mystery to me. Ok, surely there are some unlicenced lets on the island. The previous estimate was 235000. Now they say 8700, which is still more than most major platforms have in their catalogue. Both numbers seem unlikely for the following reasons: The fines for getting caught will ruin most proprietors. The primary way of getting caught is advertising on STR platforms like Airbnb, booking.com, etc., Facebook, Instagram. Secondarily, neighbours reporting it. The government may be really poor at discovering them, but once they do, the fines and consequences are very serious. It's extremely risky. If a letting is not being advertised, then getting bookings is very difficult. Sure, some word of mouth might bring a few bookings, but for a lot less money. Hardly worth the risk. And hardly worth pursuing aggressively. They would likely only account for a minor part of the tourism landscape. So, where are these alleged thousands of illegal lets getting bookings? It just doesn't seem plausible. ??