The College of Architects in the Balearics is strongly opposed to properties on rustic land that are currently illegal being used as holiday rentals, if they are legalised in accordance with provisions of the Balearic government's new administrative simplification decree.
A quid pro quo of this amnesty - many of these properties were built decades ago - is that there can't be financial benefit from tourism use. However, the government is being lobbied by the holiday rentals sector, while certain municipalities - Pollensa most notably - disagree with the withdrawal of existing licences for renting out to tourists.
The dean of the college, Bernat Nadal, says: "If this prohibition ends up disappearing, the decree will lose a lot of force. Everything has been framed in the context of the problem of the lack of housing and this was a way of bringing housing to the market. Therefore, legality by this means cannot result in doing business."
The college fears that the pressures will end up leading to a modification of the decree. "This could open the door to a buyer being, for example, an investment fund. The property would then disappear from the housing market, which in theory is what the government wishes to promote. We will oppose it, as we believe that ethical criteria must be followed. Not everything goes."