Private Holiday accommodation rentals in Andalusia

So, from now on, the Decree regulates properties used for holiday purposes as a holiday accommodation service located on residential land. This regulation excludes properties used for tourism purposes for which no money exchanges hands; accommodation rentals for longer than two months; accommodation in rural areas, which fall under the Decree on Rural Tourism and Active Tourism; accommodation consisting of three or more properties belonging to the same owner, located in the same building or group of buildings, whether adjacent or not, which fall under the regulations for tourist apartment establishments.

The Decree is based on the assumption of recurring rental for holiday purposes when the accommodation is marketed or promoted through travel agencies, companies managing and organizing holiday services and channels including options for booking accommodation.

The Decree includes both properties which are rented as a single unit and rooms rented within the property, although in the latter case the owner has to be living in the property.

In order to operate properties for holiday accommodation, the property has to be registered with the Regional Ministry responsible for tourism, where it will be automatically entered into the Tourism Register for Andalusia. From then on it will be compulsory to display the registration code of the Andalusia Tourism Register in all advertising or promotion through any channels –otherwise the rental will be considered to be operated unofficially and may be subject to inspection by the Inspection Services of the Regional Government. Fines and sanctions for infringement may go up to € 18,000 for serious cases and up to € 150,000 for very serious cases.

The requirements and services to be offered in holiday accommodation are also regulated, and include, amongst others: holding a licence for holiday rentals; compliance at all times with the technical quality conditions required; rooms with direct outside ventilation; air-cooling between May and September; first aid kit; complaint forms; cleaning upon entry of new clients and exit; availability of a contact number where clients can receive assistance and help on any issues relating to the accommodation, etc.

In respect of the above, it should be noted that a period of one year is established from when the Decree comes into force for holiday properties to adapt to these requirements and services.

Finally, a three-month period from the publication in the Official Gazette of the Andalusian Government was established for the registration of holiday properties in the above-mentioned Register, which means that the period expired last 11 May.

Carlos Javier Castillo Rodríguez Balms Abogados Marbella