The law referring to the house rental market that was passed in 2013 i.e. the well-known “law on flexibility and promotion of the housing rental market” (in Spanish Ley de medidas de flexibilización y fomento del mercado del alquiler de viviendas) has been already launched in many autonomous regions in Spain.
Short-term holiday rentals (less than a month) will not be governed anymore by the LAU (in Spanish: Ley de Arrendamiento Urbano) or the Law on Urban Rentals, but will be administered by the autonomous regions within the framework of local tourism regulations.
Andalusia is one of the last regions that still have to approve the new law. Due to the controversial nature of the project it is likely that the final draft will be approved after the Andalusia local elections on the 22nd of March 2015.
This will change the rental market in many ways and in particular will enforce minimum quality standards and better protection of holiday tenants rights.
Context of application
The new law will be applicable to holiday rentals with a duration of less than 2 months. Longer rental periods will be governed by the LAU.
The law will not be applicable to lettings for which there is no financial payment.
The rentals can be either full (the entire apartment or house) or by rooms. In the last case the landlord will have to live in the same house. Maximum capacity will be of 15 beds for a full property or 6 beds for single rooms.
Property registration
Private people willing to rent their properties (as whole or as rooms) as holiday accommodations will have to apply for a license. Each property will receive a registration number that will have to appear in all marketing materials or channels.
There will be a minimum set of criteria that the property will have to comply with in order to guarantee standards of safety and hygiene. These will include:
The property will need an occupation license and will have to be used according to its guidelines, fire extinguishers in the property, first aid kits, bed sheets and towels, complaint forms for guest, bedrooms should have exterior ventilation, minimum set of domestic appliances and services in working order, fixed cooling system during summer and fixed heating between October and April, cleaning service on arrival and departure,
tourist and lifestyle information of the area, including public parking locations and emergency services, telephone number for 24h emergencies related to the house, and list of rules and regulation of the house.
Rental contracts and payments
Guests and landlords will sign a rental contract at the beginning of the stay. The price in the contract will be inclusive of cost of water, electricity, cooling, heating, and house cleaning (including bed sheets and towels).
The Landlord will be able to charge in advance a percentage of the rental at the moment of the reservation, up to 30% of the price of the total stay. In case of cancellation the landlord will be able to charge 50% of the advance as a penalty if the cancellation was done more than 10 days before the starting of the rental.
For shorter notice periods, the landlord will be able to keep the full advance unless it’s a justified force majeure reason. The rental activity will be considered illegal when the holiday rental is taking place in an unregistered property. Sanctions will be regulated by Tourism Law of Andalusia (Ley del Turismo de Andalucía Ley 13/2011), that distinguishes different levels of infractions. Depending of the gravity of the violation a fine between €2,000 and €150,000 will be applied.
(Legal Advice)