MADRID – To deal with the nuisance or problems of some holiday makers, vacation rentals are looking to introduce the option of ‘tourist eviction’ in Spain.
The proposal comes from Miguel Ángel Sotillos, the president of the Spanish Federation of Associations of Tourist Accommodations (Fevitur*). With the option of the ‘tourist eviction’, he wants to tackle ‘the tourist external effects of holiday rentals’.
Tenants behaving badly
Sotillos explained his proposal as follows: “Urban tenancy law considers eviction when a tenant behaves badly or fails to pay the rent. Therefore, we ask the same for tourist rentals. We want the police to have the power to immediately evict a tenant, or to remove a holiday home if he does not comply with the rules. Because this is a problem that concerns us all and also occurs in other countries”.
According to Fevitur’s chairman, data from increasing occupancy shows that travellers “see vacation rentals as a legitimate and appropriate option that meets their needs at the destination.” Sotillos referred to the growth that this type of accommodation has experienced in 2022, with bookings and turnover increasing by more than 20% compared to the previous year. In addition, holiday homes in Spain account for 32% of legal accommodation capacity.
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Problem holiday rentals
He also spoke about the decision of the Spanish Supreme Court to uphold the ban on holiday homes in Palma (Mallorca). “The Supreme Court confirms that Palma is saturated, but does not attribute the blame to holiday rentals (…) although, as you know, only 1,900 accommodations of this type are offered in the city,” he stressed in statements to Europa Press. “So is the problem really vacation rentals or has the city just become too small for its economic size and need more houses built?” he wondered.
For Sotillos, “it doesn’t make sense for the administrations to blame the holiday rentals.
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*Fevitur comprises 23 associations of companies that together manage 185,000-holiday apartments and houses across Spain.
