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Only 3,000 Holiday Rental Properties Registered

Advertise online? You need a registration number.

Advertise online? You need a registration number.

Two days ago, on May 11th, the new regulations regarding compulsory registration of a short-term rental property came into force. From now on, every property owner who rents out their property on a short-term, or holiday, basis has to register their property and also ensure it complies with the regulations.

So far, only 3,000 properties have been registered, while estimates suggest up to 80,000 homes may be used for holiday-lets. Those who do not register their property are likely to receive large fines from the Junta.

Details of Decree 28/2016, were released in early February to allow people time to prepare their properties, and also to see if the decree applied to their property. Now, however, that time has expired and the decree came into force on May 11th.

Francisco Javier Fernandez, Minister of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, said “Registration is open. The administration will continue to report and manage records, although we see that the process remains slow. We will continue to ensure property owners know they have to register compulsorily if they want to make their home available for holiday rental”.

Andalucia has been one of the pioneers of the new regulations, due to the above average amount of holiday-rentals seen in the region.

All owners of holiday-rental properties will now have to comply with the basic levels of habitability including ventilation, minimum furniture requirements, line changes and health and safety regulations, as with hotels and bed & breakfast outlets.

If you are a property owner and you offer short-term rentals on your property, here is a quick checklist to help you check if your property is liable and how to comply with the regulations, in order to avoid hefty fines. You can also see the official decree here.

Does my property qualify as ‘holiday rental accommodation’?

If you own a private residential property in a residential zone and you regularly offer it for short-term (holiday) rentals for financial reward and you promote it via any recognised tourism channel then yes, this applies to you. Recognised tourism channels include, but are not limited to, travel agencies, third-party tourism promotors, or any channel that includes the option to make a reservation.

If any of the following applies to you then don’t worry, your property is excluded:

  • Properties that are transferred without payment or financial reward.
  • If the rental contract lasts for more than two months continuously by the same tenant (long-term rental).
  • Properties in rural areas. These properties are already covered by article 48 of Law 13/2011 of December 23rd and Decree number 20/2002, dated January 29th, Tourism in Rural Areas and Active Tourism.
  • Multiple properties (three or more) with the same owner, located in the same building, or in neighbouring buildings, less than 1km from each other. These will be classed as Touristic Apartments and will be subject to Decree 194/2010 of April 20.

Can I rent my property for tourism purposes?

If renting the entire property, the maximum capacity is restricted only by the license of occupation but may not exceed 15 people with a maximum of four people per room.

If renting a single room, the owner must also reside in the property, and the maximum capacity will also be four people per room, with a maximum of six people.

My property qualifies and I do rent it our seasonally. What do I need to do?

This is quite a list so sit comfortably and read on!

  1. An occupational license is required and your property must comply with technical conditions and quality requirements for housing.
  2. The property must be sufficiently equipped and furnished to enable immediate use.
  3. Ventilation, either via direct ventilation or via a patio must be in place as must the ability to provide window shading either by darkened windows, blinds or curtains.
  4. Fitted air-conditioning must be in place in all bedrooms and lounge areas. For rentals from May to September a cooling system must be available. For rentals from October to April a heating system must be available. If your property is listed as of “cultural interest” or building/modification work is prohibited, then your property is exempt from this item.
  5. Properties must contain a fully stocked medical/first aid kit.
  6. Information about local amenities must be made available for tenants. These should include details of local shops, restaurants, parking, medical facilities and public transport, etc.
  7. A complaints/claims book must be made available to tenants.
  8. Properties must be cleaned before check-in and after check out of clients.
  9. Bedding, towels and other household good must be provided, along with spares.
  10. A contact number should be available for tenants to answer questions or resolve issues regarding the rental.
  11. Information/instructions must be provided for all electrical appliances.
  12. Rules and regulations regarding the property and/or the urbanisation must be provided. These include rules regarding smoking, music, pool access etc.

 Ok, I’ve got that. How do I register?

As the owner of the property it is your responsibility to ensure your property is in-line with the new requirements and is registered with the authorities.

To do this you must submit a statement to the Ministry for Tourism confirming the property is compliant. Once submitted you can accept clients immediately. The minimum details you are required to submit are:

  • Property Details: Catastral Number and Maximum capacity (as stated on the license of occupation)
  • Your details: Whether you are an Individual or a Company, along with contact information.

Once you have registered you will receive a registration number which must be included on all promotional/advertising material.

The registry must then be informed of all rental activity in your property. This includes details of commencement and cessation of rentals.

How do I go about my rental business now?

There is now a long list of things you now have to do to legally handle your rental clients:

  1. All of your clients must be presented with a document, by way of contract, that provides your details, the registration number provided by the Registry of Tourism, the tenants details along with the details of their stay, including the price, and a contact number.
  2. All of your tenants must provide you with identification to enable you to register details of their stay. This brings private rentals in-line with the registry process when staying in any other recognised hotel or similar.
  3. You must agree arrival and departure times with your tenants prior to their arrival. If you do not, the arrival time will be assumed to be 16:00 and departure time will be 12:00.
  4. At the point of check-in, the clients must be provided with keys or access cards to allow them entry to all points of the property/urbanisation. You should also provide details of any rules regarding the community/urbanisation.
  5. Instructions for all the appliances within the property must also be made available.
  6. When advertising your property, it must be priced per night and the price must include utilities (water, electricity, cleaning and bedding). There is no restriction on the number of nights.
  7. Final price, dates etc must be provided in writing before confirmation of any booking. If an advance payment is made, a written receipt must be provided for the tenant.
  8. You may request an advance payment as a deposit up to a maximum of 30% of the total rental cost, unless a different amount is previously agreed with the tenant.

Cancellation

  • If the tenant cancels the booking within 10 days of the commencement of the rental, then the owner may retain the deposit in full.
  • If the tenant cancels the booking more than 10 days before the commencement of the rental, then the owner may retain up to 50% of the deposit.
  • If the owner cancels the booking more than 10 days before the commencement of the rental the tenant must receive a refund of the entire deposit.
  • If the owner cancels the booking within 10 days before the commencement of the rental the tenant must compensate the tenant with up to 30% of the contracted price of the entire stay.

Force Majeure

If the rental is cancelled by either party for substantiated reason or force majeure, no compensation will be due to either side.

Deadline and Sanctions

Don’t panic! The decree was only published last week so you have a little time to prepare. Registration will open three months from publication, which was Feb 11th. This takes us to May 11th, 2016. From this date we believe you will have three months in which to register your property. You then have 12 months to ensure your property is fully compliant.

NB: This article acts as information only and should not be considered to be a legal document. If you own a property which you wish to rent on a short-term basis then you are responsible for ensuring your compliance with the decree.