Spain has enacted new legislation in its latest hit on tackling its housing crisis. Now in force, the law also applies in the Canary Islands and targets property owners planning to rent their premises to tourists.
To approve their properties as short-term holiday rentals, homeowners in residential buildings will now require the “explicit approval” of their neighbours before they can do so, Canarian Weekly reported. A 60% vote, or three-fifths, of the community of property owners will be needed before owners can begin a new tourist rental and it means residents will now have greater control over tourist spots in their area.
The change was prompted by concerns over the impact of holiday rentals and short-term lets on housing availability and prices.
In an update to Spain’s Horizontal Property Act, the new legislation, known as Organic Law 1/2025, means that locals now have legal recourse to stop the unauthorised use of tourist lodgings.
If an owner lets a property to tourists without the necessary approval, neighbours can demand an immediate end to the activity through the community president or other residents.
Existing tourist lets will not be affected by the new law. Spain’s government has also suggested it may develop a tax rule which would define tourist rentals as an economic activity. This would be significant as it would mean that the Spanish equivalent of VAT, known as IVA in Spain and IGIC in the Canary Islands, would be applied.
Housing minister Isabel Rodriguez said of the legislation: “We need more housing and less Airbnbs.”
At the weekend, hundreds of thousands of protestors staged demonstrations across 40 Spanish cities to make their dissatisfaction on overtourism known. Though Spain has Europe’s fastest growing economy, it is experiencing a housing crisis which protestors say is worsened by a swollen tourism industry.
According to property website Idealista, average rents have doubled and house prices have risen by 44% in the last decade, outstripping wage growth.
Spain welcomed a record 94 million tourists in 2024 and is the second-most visited country in the world, with France taking the top spot. Official figures show only around 120,000 new homes are built in Spain every year, roughly 15% of pre-financial crash levels.
