In the historic center of the city, restrictions will be implemented prohibiting tourist housing scattered in community residences. The new regulation will also allow the opening of tourist apartments in completely unused residential buildings, which are listed and located outside commercial axes, with a license linked to the rehabilitation of the property for a maximum of 15 years. Outside the historic center, this possibility will only exist if the building is located outside commercial axes.
The Reside Plan will not affect tourist apartments that already have a license, even if they are in residential buildings alongside neighbors. The City Council trusts the measures implemented last April, such as the suspension of new licenses and the strengthening of fines and inspections, to combat illegal tourist apartments.
The main purpose of this new regulation is to concentrate tourist apartments in exclusive buildings, in order to minimize the problems of coexistence with local residents. In the case of Tourist Use Housing (VUT), these can be established in a complete building or in scattered residences, while seeking to preserve and expand the residential areas of the historic center and control unauthorized tourist housing.
Regarding the prohibition of converting commercial premises into tourist use housing in the historic center, there is a continuous effort by the City Council to detect and sanction these illegal practices. During the current year, 448 illegal rental houses were detected, the cessation of activity was ordered in 356 tourist apartments, and 221 were returned to being used as residences.
On the other hand, the Reside Plan establishes that in non-residential buildings, vacation rental homes will be allowed without restrictions. The regulation also contemplates the possibility of converting lots in the center designated for offices into housing, on the condition that they later regain their residential function.
The mayor of the city, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, presented this new regulation that aims to preserve the residential areas of the historic center and control the illegal tourist rental market. As part of these measures, penalties for non-compliance will progressively increase, with fines of up to 100,000 euros in the case of reoffending.
