[Anonymous]

Apologies if this subject has been covered before (I’m new to the forum).

Aside from the tax implications of renting out holiday apartments (see “Rental property – Be prepared” post), I’ve been told by more than one person that in Spain (or some parts of Spain) it is against the law to use your apartment for holiday lettings if it is part of a complex which is not specifically designated for tourist use.

Is this true and can anyone quote the relevant law so that I can find out more?

[Fuengi (Andrew)]

No its not true.

[Anonymous]

Could there be a stipulation in the deeds or community rules saying there may only be long term lets? (Like in some apartments in Florida.)

[Anonymous]

I think you may find this is applicable in the Canary Islands. I know that you have to have a rental licence or your complex has to have a rental licence to rent out your property in Lanzarote. I did ask this question about mainland spanish properties when we started our search and no one knows anything about it on the mainland.

[Anonymous]

Anita, Carol,

Thanks for your replies. I have discovered that each autonomous region has its own regulations. In the Canaries, Valencia and Balearics there are strict regulations. In Mallorca, for example, there is a requirement to register with the Tourist Coucil and “Anyone that rents out holiday accommodation without registering this commercially is threatened with a fine of up to 5 million pesetas.”

The following website explains:
http://www.profi-konzept.com/tax-law/12.html

Fuengi’s reply was rather misguided and of no use whatsoever.

[Fuengi (Andrew)]

how so?

you asked if it was AGAINST THE LAW to use your apartment for holiday lettings if its in a complex not designed specifically for tourist use.

no there is no law preventing a rental of a property. But as you said, in some areas there are legislations specifying procedures, standards, etc should you wish to rent.

[Anonymous]

Hi Rickl, good detective work 😀 . Does this mean there are no restrictions in Murcia. Reading the link you posted, it only seemed to cover Mallorca. From where did you get the information about Valencia having restrictions.

[Anonymous]

Hi,
Thanks for the information. I too am interested to find out more about registration of holiday properties in general, but specifically for Andalucia (Huelva).

I have looked at google.es and guess a gestor would be the person to contact. However, I’d like to do my own initial search online for information. Anyone out there with “key phrases” in spanish I could borrow?
Thanks,
Carol

[Anonymous]

Hi Carol,

I think the below web site might be useful to type in your english words and it will interpret into spanish and you can then google to your heart’s delight! Happy hunting! By the way if you want a legal opinion on renting property there is a section on http://torrievieja.com under the Legal Section where questions are asked and answered by a law firm.

http://babelfish.altavista.com

Hope this helps. 😉

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply JWhite. I’ll look into it.
Regards,
Carol

[Anonymous]

Hi Carol,

Just be careful with babelfish..its translations are sometimes a little interesting, not always the best Spanish!! Try getting it to translate the given Spanish into English as well to see if it makes sense..somethings don’t translate directly and I think babelfish tries to still! Heather

[Anonymous]

Renting a property provides incomes and thus is taxable as a rendimiento de capital inmobiliario, however it has been difficult to agencia tributaria (spanish inland revenue) to ascertain about profits for non-declared lettings.

Notwithstanding that this year it is compulsory to state at the IRPF the cadastre reference key (referencia catastral) of the place where you live in. Consequently all tenants are now forced to declare indirectly that they are under a letting contract and hence the inland revenue can trace you as a landlord who do not declare those incomes.

Apart from that, Carol was right saying that at the “Estatutos de Comunidad” or internal regulations of the building where your flat is there may be such prohibitions, which would be mandatory to you and thus the condominium or joint-owners of the building might sue you as to stop letting the flat against those regulations of the building. This is quite a rare case, but has happened.

[Anonymous]

Hello again,
Thank you Heather and Miguel for your replies. My information search has come to a standstill. But, I understand from the above post that it is very important to research the estatutos de comunidad, and, likewise, to attend the community meetings in order to have a vote in the setting of rules and regulations. Regarding the law, it sounds very scary, and I’m sure many people do not declare income gained from short term lets (less than 3 months). Especially if it is a casual arrangement between friends and family?
Regards,
Carol

[Author]

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