The “Consell de Mallorca” authority has recently given definite approval to holiday rentals  zoning. This is going to put an end to the existing suspension of new licenses to carry out the activity. In fact, a new zoning proposal has already been prepared taking in consideration all reports and allegations.

At the moment, the Balearic Environmental Commission has one month to prepare their report, so from the second half of July new licenses could be requested.

However, it is important to take into account that the new authorisations are granted by the Tourism Agency, and that not only must the dwelling be within a qualified area according to the zoning approved by the Consell, it will also have to meet the requirements of article 50 of the Government’s Tourism Law.

These are:

• Having a valid certificate of habitability.
• In the case of multifamily residential buildings, the community of owners’ rules must not prohibit the activity.
• Presenting the correspondent energy certification.
• The dwelling must have individual water, electricity and / or gas meters.
• It cannot be a social housing dwelling.
• For properties situated in saturated areas it must be proved that it is the regular place of residence of the owner.

News:

1. For new touristic properties, a spot should be bought from the Tourism Agency Pool in the same way that hotels do. The Tourism Agency must determine the price per spot.
2. The “Consell Insular” should also write down a Tourism Intervention Plan (Plan de Intervención Ámbitos Turísticos – PIAT) that will determine the number of spots that can be granted in each zone.
3. The new licenses will be valid for 5 years.

In regards to Palma, the town council took longer to approve the initial zoning, and as a consequence, the final zoning will have some delay as well. On August 1st, when the Government’s suspension finishes, licenses can be requested for single family dwellings, in accordance with the stipulations of the previous law.

If you need more information about the Tourism Law and holiday rental, do not hesitate to contact us.
At Ripoll & Mateu Solicitors Mallorca we advise, defend and represent our clients at all levels. Our greatest asset is an infrastructure of professional leaders in each field of action, especially Real Estate and Tax, as well as our international vocation and multilingual capacity.