Increase in lawsuits against regulations limiting tourist apartments

With the growing increase in tourism in Spain’s main tourist cities, tourist apartments have experienced record demand, and many property owners have decided to dedicate to that purpose the properties they previously rented to long-term tenants, or even their own primary residences. The purchase of homes to be used as tourist apartments has also surged, which has considerably driven up housing prices in recent years. 

Some city councils have begun to apply restrictions, as they believe that the proliferation of tourist accommodations (apartments, hotels, and hostels) has created an imbalance between residential and hotel use. In cities such as San Sebastián or Barcelona, licenses to open new tourist properties have been limited. And as Barcelona already did with its Special Urban Plan for Tourist Accommodation (Peuat), Madrid is preparing the Special Plan for the Implementation of Hospitality Use, which will limit vacation rentals to 90 days per year and will include requirements for apartments intended for such use — for example, they must have independent access from the street. 

Several law firms have stated that most of the regulations included in municipal plans to regulate tourist apartments infringe the right to free competition. There is also a ruling by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJ) in favor of Apartur against the Peuat, which nullifies certain articles of the plan. As a result, lawsuits from affected parties are expected to increase.