Else Beekman
While Valencia is already cracking down on illegal holiday rentals, and Benidorm is following suit this week, Alicante remains conspicuously quiet. What’s holding back this popular coastal city from limiting its holiday rentals, and why is enforcement still lagging behind?
Picture this: you’ve lived for twenty years in a quiet apartment block in Alicante’s old town. But lately, your sleep is interrupted by suitcase wheels on the stairs, parties upstairs, garbage in the corridor and strangers in the lift. You’re not alone. Many residents complain about the disruption caused by tourist flats in residential areas. Yet, unlike other cities, Alicante’s local government seems reluctant to act.
Valencia and Benidorm lead the way
In Valencia, enforcement powers to regulate tourist rentals have already been transferred to the city council. This has been made possible under a new agreement between the regional government of the Comunidad Valenciana and local authorities, aimed at curbing the unchecked growth of holiday lets. Since January, 34,000 properties have been removed from the tourist accommodation register.
Alicante without concrete steps
And Alicante? It’s been nearly three months since the city introduced a moratorium on new tourist licences. But Mayor Luis Barcala (PP) has yet to formally request the enforcement powers needed to police illegal rentals. There’s talk of doing so, but no concrete steps have been taken. Meanwhile, time is ticking.
“There’s a problem with convivencia”
Barcala does acknowledge the issue: the balance between tourism and liveability is under strain. “There’s a problem with convivencia”, he admits. Nevertheless, he maintains there’s still “room for growth” and even claims there’s a “shortage of hotels”. Furthermore, he also admits that the growing number of tourist apartments in residential buildings is causing tension among residents.
That’s why, as of January this year, the city imposed a temporary halt on new holiday rental licences for up to two years. The idea? To buy time to create better policy. But without enforcement powers, the plan remains theoretical. On top of that, the moratorium itself is now under judicial review, following a legal challenge by APTUR, the regional association representing owners, managers, and organisations linked to holiday rentals.
Two reports, two interpretations
To get a clearer picture of the situation, the city commissioned two separate studies. The University of Alicante flagged highly saturated areas like the old town, where the ratio of tourist beds to residents reportedly stands at 95 per 100. Still, they saw potential for another 4,000 beds in less crowded neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, a private consultancy hired by the council argued that there was no evidence of depopulation or rising housing prices linked to tourist rentals. What neither study could determine, however, was the true number of illegal rentals.
Over 3,000 “questionable” listings
A rough estimate cites 3,292 tourist apartments that don’t match up with the municipal register. But that figure only includes discrepancies between local and regional databases, it doesn’t include unregistered rentals whose owners never attempted to legalise them.
Also read: Alicante leads in tourist homes in Spain as numbers decline nationwide