The Spamish government is trying to calm public protests over housing by giving the green light to two measures it was already working on, one of which has even caused friction with Sumar, its coalition partner. The Minister for Housing and the Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, informed the Council of Ministers on Tuesday about the regulation to regulate tourist and seasonal housing. This regulation, which is a transposition of a European directive, will come into force on 2 January next year (with a test phase yet to be defined) and will mean that owners of homes they want to rent for short periods will have to incorporate them into a single register and obtain a code before marketing them on any digital platform (such as Airbnb or Booking, but also those of other real estate portals and agencies).
According to the royal decree - which is subject to a public hearing as of today - landlords will be obliged to obtain a registration number, provide the information required for registration or renewal, meet the information requirements and inform the online platforms of the registration number assigned to them by the Land Registry. And the platforms, for their part, are obliged to ensure that landlords identify their properties by means of this number in their applications and that it is visible in the advertisements.
"The Land Registry will be able to certify that the property complies with local and state regulations, as well as that the residents‘ association has approved that there can be tourist flats in the block," explained Rodríguez. In this way, the minister pointed out, two objectives are achieved: on the one hand, to prosecute fraud and put a stop to illegal or fraudulent seasonal tourist accommodation in order to "mobilise the largest residential rental housing stock".
If the flat does not meet the requirements, the registrar will deny the code. The registration number obtained is valid for 12 months. After this, renewal must be requested by providing a list of the rentals for each category constituted during that year and, in the case of seasonal rentals, a responsible declaration that the temporary rental had justified causes. These are basically work, medical or study reasons. The unions proposed that the seasonal rental should be for less than six months, but the government has decided that the cause should take precedence and that the length of time should vary according to the cause. If it is for an academic year it could be nine months, for a work displacement it could be longer or for oncological treatment.
The Government will create a "Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals" through which the collection and exchange of data related to rental services and short-term accommodation will be regulated and which will connect digital platforms, landlords, registrars and administrations. Spain will be the first country in the European Union to develop this one-stop shop.
The registrar will have 15 days to check that the property complies with the conditions and, if there is anything to rectify, the owner will have seven days to comply with the regulations. Penalties for owners who market without the registration number will be the responsibility of the autonomous communities, local councils or the application of the consumer law.
The Council of Ministers has also approved the renewal of the Bono Alquiler Joven, which was agreed in the sectoral conference with the autonomous communities, in the same amount (200 million euros per year) as the previous two years and which does not have the backing of its coalition partner. Sumar considers that these rental subsidies for young people (250 euros per month) only benefit landlords, who raise prices knowing that young people have this money. Asked about the discrepancies with her government partner, Sumar, regarding housing policies, the minister assured that "the only tension" she cares about is "that of the rental market".
"We are not going to stop until we find a solution to the problem that thousands of people in our country have today; it is a cross-cutting problem. We will use all our resources to provide a response to the housing problem", she said after the Council of Ministers.