Spanish region of Catalonia to vote on limiting number of lets for tourist apartments

Politicians in the Spanish region of Catalonia are due to vote on Wednesday on a controversial proposal that seeks to reduce drastically the number of tourist apartments in the area.

The reform, presented by the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which governs in a minority, would allow no more than 10 properties to be used for short-term rental for every 100 inhabitants. According to estimates, this would mean the closure of 28,000 such properties.

The Catalan government has presented the initiative as a way of managing the region’s housing shortage.

“The objective is to guarantee the right to housing, guarantee its social use, above all where tourist use means an increase in prices and prevents the provision of housing for local inhabitants,” said Ester Capella, the Catalan minister for territory, who oversees the housing department.

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Barcelona is the most notorious example of the trend outlined by Capella, with the centre of the city dominated by tourism, which has pushed up property prices and driven locals to other areas. In 2014 the city froze the number of tourist flats allowed at 9,600, and over the past eight years the authorities have closed down 6,000 unlicensed flats.

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A legal loophole recently meant that Barcelona had to allow the opening of about 600 new tourist flats.

With a population of 1.6 million, the Catalan capital would be unlikely to be affected by the new norms. But there are 47 towns in Catalonia that currently exceed the proposed apartment-inhabitant ratio, both along the coast and in the Pyrenees, which is a popular skiing destination.

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Critics have warned that the law is too drastic and will have a major impact on the economy of Catalonia. David Riba, president of the Catalan Federation of Tourist Apartments (Federatur), said data shows “the regulation that the regional government is planning is an abuse that puts in jeopardy thousands of small- and medium-sized businesses”.

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His organisation estimates this kind of accommodation generated €21 billion in the region last year.

The Barcelona Tourist Apartment Association (Apartur) has similar misgivings and estimates the law would have a negative impact on half of the region’s tourism industry.

The Catalan Competition Authority (ACCO), meanwhile, warned that the change could mean, “in the most extreme case, the complete elimination of this kind of accommodation” in many towns, without providing a solution to the region’s housing problem.

Federatur and Apartur have pledged to take the case to the courts if the legislation goes through and is implemented. However, its passage through the regional parliament is by no means guaranteed, with the political opposition expressing doubts and many mayors across the region opposed to it.

With only 33 deputies in the 135-strong chamber, ERC will need support from elsewhere in order to win the vote. Its fellow pro-independence party, Together for Catalonia (JxCat) is unhappy with the proposal, as are the Catalan socialists, who want town halls to have the final say on whether to implement the cap. With the conservatives and far right both opposing the law outright, it is expected to face an uphill battle.

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