The Spanish Tribunal Supremo has confirmed that block, community associations can, with a three-fifths majority, prevent a flat from being turned into tourist accommodation .

This means that an absolute majority in a vote is no longer necessary to stop a flat owner converting his flat into tourist rentals.

The reason that there is such hostility towards tourist rentals is for at least two reasons:

One, it pushes up the rents in a municipality making it mission impossible for young people to be able to afford to actually live in their hometown.

Two, the quick turnover of tennants very often causes problems with other block residents because of the noise generated by tourists living it up with no concern for the inconvenience caused to neighbours – they’re on holiday and have paid a lot of money for a short stay and are going to get their money’s worth out of it.

A three-fifths majority of flat owners also has to take into consideration the coefficent or percentage of the whole block owned by a flat owner; the bigger the flat, the larger percentage of the whole. In other words, a large penthouse represents a larger percentage of the entire block than a normal-sized one below. Therefore three fifths of the flat owners might not necessarily be three fifths of the block ownership.

(News: Spain)

Keywords: Tourist Flats, Short-Term Rentals, Voting, Three Fifths Minimum, Block Community

Reader’s comment: “Makes a lot of sense ????” – Fred Davies

Well, if I have understood it correctly… and that is a pretty damned big “if,” then if somebody bought all the flats on one floor with the idea of turning them into tourist flats (say there are four) in a four storey building, then his percentage alone is 25%, so if he opposes it then how can you get a three-fifths (60%) majority if four of the other 16 flat owners back him. It might be only five out of 16 owners opposing the motion but it’s enough.