Catalonia caps short-term rentals, threatening 46% of beds

Catalonia tightens rules for short-term rentals: 46% of beds at risk

What happens when an administration decides to intervene in the holiday apartment business? The affected sector cries out before the first sanction arrives. In Catalonia, the Generalitat declared 140 municipalities as tensioned areas and announced it would limit rental prices, including seasonal lets. The industry association Federatur, representing nearly 550 companies owning apartments, warned that a regulatory change would put up to 46% of tourist beds at risk. This warning is no coincidence: it comes after the Housing Law peine the door to regulating temporary rentals and after Andalusia announced it would require owners of more than two tourist properties per province to register as self-employed or businesses.

The sequence is easy to reconstruct. First, the Housing Law was approved, with its fifth additional provision and the creation of a working group to regulate lease contracts for uses other than residential housing. Then came the declarations of tensioned zones. Later, the announcement that Catalonia will also limit seasonal rentals. Finally, the sector's complaint. The pattern repeats in each territory: regulation, reaction, and warning that the business model breaks.

What does the Housing Law say about temporary rentals?

The law did not ban tourist rentals but peine the door to regulating them. The fifth additional provision contemplated creating a working group to organize lease contracts for non-residential use. In other words, the legislator laid the first stone so that seasonal rentals would no longer be in limbo. From there, each region could act.

Catalonia did just that. The regional government declared 140 municipalities as tensioned areas and announced it would limit rental prices. The Generalitat added that new rules on seasonal rentals would be ready by autumn. The stated intention was to ensure price regulation wasn't bypassed via short-term contracts.

The sector responded with a figure: up to 46% of tourist beds would be at risk if regulations changed. Federatur asked Catalan administrations for "dialogue." The association argues that the housing problem isn't theirs and that stricter regulation would exclude them from the market.

Andalusia joins in: self-employment required for owners of more than two flats

Andalusia announced it wants to require owners of more than two tourist properties per province to register as self-employed or businesses. According to the proposal, this measure would rely on the framework of the Housing Law, just like in Catalonia. It's not a ban, but it changes the nature of the business: from occasional landlord to declared economic activity.

The move by Andalusia confirms that regulating tourist rentals is no longer a Catalan exception. It spreads across territories governed by different parties. The coincidence is striking: administrations of different political signs apply the same recipe. The apartment tourism sector is beginning to run out of political refuge.

Why does the sector say the housing problem isn't theirs?

The tourist apartment association distances itself from the housing crisis. Their argument is that they don't compete with residential rentals, but with hotels. Federatur warns that new regulations would endanger almost half of the supply. They ask for dialogue before approval.

The counterargument circulating is different: if a flat can be rented for €100 a night, an owner hesitating between residential and tourist rental has a clear incentive. The price of seasonal rentals sets a floor for the rest. It doesn't take the same flat being in both markets: it's enough that the owner compares options.

Some argue that small tourist rental owners will disappear, and the business will concentrate in large companies or associations of small owners turned into micro-enterprises. According to this view, the trend was already visible in Barcelona, where entire buildings are renovated for tourist apartments. Regulation wouldn't eliminate the business: it would reorder it.

The struggle over room rentals and empty homes

The debate doesn't stop at whole tourist flats. It also reaches room-by-room rentals and closed homes. In the first case, the question is whether price regulation will eventually cover that modality too. In the second, pressure comes via taxes: in Barcelona and Catalonia, there has been talk of IBI surcharges of up to 150% for empty homes.

The Housing Law also added a less noticed piece: the ban on paying rent in cash unless one lacks a bank account. This measure aims at payment traceability and the hidden economy of rentals. For owners operating in cash, the margin narrows.

The whole picture draws a scenario where renting, in any form, stops being an opaque space. The law doesn't ban renting. It bans renting without leaving a trace.

What about the possible repeal of the Housing Law?

The possible repeal of the Housing Law after the July 23 elections has been raised as a risk for European funds. Repealing the norm could be considered a revocation of a rule aimed at meeting a milestone of the Recovery Plan. In other words, it's not just a matter of internal politics: there are commitments with Brussels.

That detail explains why the law hasn't been repealed. Changing a norm that forms part of a plan committed to the EU has costs. Political maneuvering room narrows. Meanwhile, regions continue to act: Catalonia, Andalusia, and others joining in.

The lingering question is what escape route remains for owners wanting to profit from their flat via tourism. Given recent moves, the answer is increasingly unclear. The tourist flat as a refuge for landlords is finding more doors closed than open.

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With this landscape, those who bought a beach apartment solely for nightly rentals will have to crunch numbers. And with the law in place, the numbers don't look as pretty as in the brochure.