Tourist licence number - Page 2

I know some property rental companies are offering to obtain licences for free if you list your property with them. They will advertise your property straightaway with the caveat "tourist licence in process", leading people to think it's just an administrative application that's required and the licence will be granted automatically. Sadly, this is not so - if the requirements aren't met then the licence won't be granted and property owners end up getting fined and left with an unlettable property - a double whammy.  The authorities are really tightening up on this - expect a lot of fallout from this as it becomes more prevalent. The company advertising the property also runs the risk of being fined too. Nightmare! 

Certainly won’t help on the property sales side of things either , apart from the people that are actually moving over, even now I’m still getting properties sent to me saying ‘ ideal investment/holiday rental’ property and you can see they definitely are not going to be up to standard for the new rules. . Such a shame 🙁

I agree totally. I'm still getting exactly the same email alerts from agents. That's why I'm alerting people. The agents have a vested interest in selling and won't tell people what the legal position is. What I've started to do is respond to these emails and query the property's likelihood of having a licence granted - some reply to the effect that it's nothing to worry about and others don't bother replying. Very unethical behaviour! 

How do the authorities know how big your bathrooms are 

Also it is a requirement of the licence that you get the permission of the local Town Hall before you send in the application 

Is it me .... but the size of the older buildings out here will not have a problem regarding bathroom and room sizes ...... but these new cube Scandinavian builds? Would they be the ones that fall foul of these new rules as a lot of them are tiny internally

Plans of room sizes have to be submitted, these are checked for accuracy. Anyone exaggerating the room sizes is likely to be caught as a lot of properties have a well established floor plan that is known to the authorities. 

I haven't been in any of the cube style properties but if the room sizes don't conform to the requirements then they'll not get the licence, seems to be as simple as that. Bathrooms in the properties I was looking at tended to be around 8 feet by 6 feet, which just misses the size requirements. So near, and yet so far! 

I can not see anywhere on the licence application that says plans of the interior have to be supplied 

Can I just make it clear that although some adverts do say that the property is awaiting the license, or it is in the process, you can still be fined for advertising an unlicensed property so don't take the risk.  Even advertising your own property on your own personal facebook page could constitute an advert and so require adding the number.

Secondly, the law changed in May 2015 regarding licenses and room sizes were specified even then.  in fact if you owned more than one rental property you needed a license before May 2015.  There was a 'grace' period where the rules were not enforced to allow time for people to get legal, but from June of this year they have started to be ebforced.  I have had several 'conversations' with both estate agents and holiday let rental agents about the need for licenses and I know many were saying it wasn't necessary as no one bothered with them even at the beginning of this year!  As a property finder I have been telling our clients for over 3 years that a license is required and referring them to information regarding requirements (including room sizes), and pointing out that a lot of converted underbuilds wont qualify as a self-contained holiday apartment due to low ceiling height and window sizes in so-called bedrooms.  Inspections are finally taking place before licenses are issued, so size does matter!!!

And thirdly, as town halls now have to issue a certificate first, before you can submit your application, it is possible that at some point some town halls will decide they have enough holiday lets in their area and will refuse to issue any more certificates.  There is no way of knowing if or when or where this will happen.

Overall having licenses is a good thing - it will do away with the black market rentals where the owners haven't declared their income in Spain (and possibly no where else either!), who were calling a windowless room a bedroom, not providing suitable safety equipment etc and smoke detectors, or did not have insurance cover.  However it will sadly mean a few honest owners will be caught by the enforcement of the restrictions too.

No estate agent should claim that they were not aware of the regulations, they have a duty to know them!  

Excellent, informative post. It is so refreshing to know that at least one person in the property business knows the law and wants to ensure everyone abides by it. We'll done. You deserve to be successful.