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Date Published: 31/05/2024

New rules force Alicante holiday home buyers to apply for new tourist permits

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The law means that tourist accommodation licences will be attached to the applicant, not the property

New rules force Alicante holiday home buyers to apply for new tourist permits

The government of the Valencian Community has drawn up a new regulation which means that properties with current tourist licences will lose these permits if the house is sold. Scheduled for approval before summer, this regulation aims to target soaring property prices linked to the lucrative tourist accommodation market in Alicante and the wider region.

Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Nuria Montes, announced the changes on Thursday May 30, explaining that the new rule means that tourist licences will be attached to the owner rather than the property.

And because these permits typically push up the price of a house or apartment, the move should serve to stabilise the property market considerably.

According to official data, there are currently around 120,000 tourist homes in the Valencian Community. "But we are very afraid that what is actually marketed through the platforms could be double or more," the councillor warned.

What's more, she pointed out that "every day the rental of rooms within tourist homes is offered", something that is "completely prohibited" and that "will never be allowed in Valencian regulations."

Given this situation, the new law seeks to control the underground economy, not tourist accommodation in general, which Ms Montes stressed, "is part of the tourism model without any problem."

However, it should be remembered that each Town Hall now has the option of denying new tourism licences if it believes the area is saturated with holiday homes.

It's also very difficult for the authorities to keep tabs on which tourist lets are registered and which ones are operating illegally. At the moment, the government only employs 11 inspectors, even though the number of property inspections has doubled in the last year.

To combat this, Ms Montes's department is working on ways to simplify the inspection procedure which will include "innovative measures" like making better use of artificial intelligence.

In other news: Orihuela Costa fights back against illegal squatters

Image: Freepik

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