Lorraine Williamson
The Madrid City Council has decided to ban tourist apartments in residential buildings in the centre of the city. Mayor Almeida will present this new plan in two weeks. The aim is to preserve the identity of the neighbourhoods and small businesses by preventing commercial premises from being converted into housing for tourists.
With the plan, the mayor wants to guarantee the quality of life in the centre of Madrid and regulate the tourist pressure. However, there is still discussion about the effectiveness and implementation of the measures.
The special plan focuses on creating more housing in the city centre and definitively regulating tourist housing. These cause a huge increase in rental and sales prices. According to the conservative Partido Popular, this is essential for the protection of residents and the development of a housing policy. The opposition does not think the measures are clear enough and fears that they will backfire.
Key action
Tourist apartments in the historic centre (AP001 area) may no longer be spread over several houses. Tourist use is only allowed in full blocks. This is to reduce nuisance and traffic noise. In addition, the plan does allow for private buildings to be converted to residential use to create affordable housing. This can apply to up to 210 properties in the centre of the Spanish capital.
Transformation of buildings
Certain buildings with a commercial purpose may be converted into housing. In the main commercial streets, the municipality prohibits the conversion of commercial premises into tourist apartments in order to protect the character of the neighbourhood.
Doubts in opposition
José Luis Nieto of Más Madrid and Antonio Giraldo of the socialist party PSOE do not think the plan is clear. They are afraid of the possible negative consequences of the plan. They stress that the measures could displace existing residents and exacerbate tourist pressure in the centre.
Penalties and controls
The city council has already published a list of legal tourist homes and has tightened inspections and sanctions to combat illegal activities. Despite a moratorium on new permits, there are currently 1,131 legal tourist apartments in the city.
Also read: Claims for damages are pouring in after a ban on tourist rentals in Barcelona