An all time high of 70 million tourists are expected to visit Spain in the coming year. However this does not help new property owners who want to rent out their homes as tourist rental properties unless they buy a property which already has a tourist short term rental license. If you are lucky enough to find a property to buy which already has a license then you will find that the price is higher. Sellers can put their asking price up if the property comes with a short term rental license. Now that the Barcelona city hall has put a moratorium on new short term rental licenses the hotels can breathe a sigh of relief. Not long ago the hotel industry in Barcelona was up in arms about the damage illegal private rentals, online rental sites and the number of legal short term rentals in Barcelona was having on the tourist industry.
What is Good about the Barcelona Moratorium on Short Term Rental Licenses?
· The hospitality industry gets a bit of breathing room, not having to worry about rentals flooding the market even more than they already are and “stealing” hotel guests.
· Private residents, who were getting sick of finding noisy, messy tourists staying next door are protected from even more rentals opening up in residential areas and causing trouble.
· Home owners with legal rentals, those with a rental license pay tax on their rental profits but illegal rentals do not. Legal short term rental landlords know that at least in the near future they don’t have to worry about competition on their doorstep.
· The value of properties which already have a short term rental license has gone up.
The Down Side of the Moratorium on Short Term Rental Licenses
· Honest citizens who want to open a rental property are forced to either do it illegally or pay the extra amount when buying a property which already has a license.
· Surely growth in the tourism industry equals growth overall? What is wrong with more rentals. More rentals equals more tourists.
· If home owners revert to renting illegally then the tourists and the home owner have no legal protection. If property is damaged or stolen the home owner cannot exactly go to court as he has to hide the fact that he was renting illegally. On the other hand tourists who are cheated out of their money, lied to or not given what was agreed when closing the rental deal have no legal recourse.
