Crackdown on illegal holiday lettings

[fifi]

Wouldnt that be fun?[] I do love researching.[][][][]


He could be  moonlighting as a Tourist Inspector.[][]

[emmi]

I can see the headlines now:

"Ex Spanish Prime Minister aiding and abetting illegal lettings!"

[fifi]

Oooh yes.....[]

I wonder will he choose wisely?[][][]

[kevin2003]

Not much chance of that I fear.....[]

[appy ammer]

love it;)

[austin7]

Phew!!! just read my way through a lot of theis post...   lots of info here, Last month the authorities visited all the estate and rental agencies in Corralejo and told them they could not handle holiday rents -seems it is only Hotels, Travel agencies and tour operators who are l;icenced to sell holiday lets.

They really do seem to shoot themselves in the foot these incompetent authorities.

I have heard that there is a consortium of Teneriffe property owners led by two lawyers who are taking the Canarian Goevernment to court in Madrid sometime this month - does anybody have an update on that??

[fifi]

Hi Austin, yes the two Lawyers have been successful with some of their appeals and managed to get some fines reduced to  €15,000 from the original €18,000.http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/update-on-illegal-letting-asociacion-alotca-following-committee-meeting-yesterday.html

 Santiago and Jose Escobedo are the Lawyers involved. Jose Escobedo  is offering to submit the first appeal for clients for €880.http://www.escobedo.net/index.php/Escobedo_abogados/articles/holiday_rentals_in_the_canary_isles_questions_answers

 Some of the cases have been dropped  because of a backlog of cases.There has been an organisation called ALOTCA set up. Everyone who is affected by this has been asked  to join. Details of how to join are here.. http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/form-to-join-alotca.html ALOTCA have organised press releases , none of which have been used by the Canarian Press. The organisation are not really surprised by this.

 The Lawyers are keeping their tactics private at the moment according to Janet Anscombes blog, and I have not seen a link for the online petition yet. People who add their names to the petition will need to have registered on the Empadronamiento and include their NIE numbers. 15,000 signatures are needed and if they get this amount the Government have no option but to look at changing the law.

[fifi]

Update....Harassment of holidaymakers in private accommodation.http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/form-to-join-alotca.html

Andy Sargent says:
18 April 2012 at 7:20 pm

I have been the owner of an apartment in an aparthotel complex for 10 years were the registered letting agent is the majority share holder of the site. My understanding the mix is 55/45% hotel/private owned. We have been advised that of the 1st May 2012 anyone using a private apartment who is not the actual owner will be evicted from the site, by force if necessary.
I am not a serious letter but do expect family and close friends to be able to use 'my' apartment at my discretion. Whether I am reimbursed for this is totally irrelevant to this situation. I do have my own view and solution to this in the short term but are very interested to be kept up to date with the current situation and part of any campaign to try and change the law to be more flexible for owners particularly of single apartments. I do not and never have advertised for open market business in any form of media.
Janet says:
18 April 2012 at 7:31 pm

This is absolutely illegal. Get a lawyer. An owner may use his or her own apartment in any way s/he pleases. "Personal enjoyment" does not require the physical presence of the owner. Demand to see the law they claim they're quoting, and I repeat: get a lawyer.

D McGill says:
19 April 2012 at 11:36 am

Andy we are in the same boat in our complex and have been told that any other guests that are not the owner will result in police being called, my daughters fiances parents are due out and some close friends and i am appaled at the situation


Another example of harassment....

John says:
26 April 2012 at 4:30 pm

Janet – below is a copy of the document being handed out to people on Panoram Apartments who are renting through private owners – very threatening !
I would have thought some of these alleged "illegalities" would not apply to EU citizens and the letter itself is therefore illegal?

"7/1995 CANARY ISLANDS TOURISM REGULATIONS ACT

Principle of unity of exploitation

Article 38.- Principle of unity of exploitation.

2. For the purposes of this Act, unity of exploitation is considered the submitting of the tourist accommodation activity to a sole company in each establishment...

Article 40.- Requirements and conditions of the unity of exploitation.
The unity of exploitation for tourist accommodation requires:
a) The allocating of a sufficient number of people to the exploitation.
b) Facilities for reception purposes that are sufficient and are permanently available to assist guests.
c) A copy of this Act and of the regulations in force at all times regarding tourist accommodation, tourism and municipal operating permit and complaint forms be kept available to guests at this reception.

CANARY ISLANDS GOVERNMENT DECREE 149/1986

GUEST REGISTER, COMPLAINT FORMS, INVOICES, PRICES AND
THE ADVERTISING THEREOF AND OF THE ESTABLISHMENT

Article 21.- Register of guests.- Guests must be previously registered and show the appropriate documents proving their identity in order to be able to use the rooms.

1/1992 PROTECTION OF CITIZENS ACT

Article 11. Foreigners in Spain are compelled to provide the necessary documentation proving their identity and that they are in Spain legally under the provisions of current regulations.

Article 12.
1. Individuals or companies undertaking activities related to citizens' security, such as those regarding accommodation,... must complete the written, informative registration established by current law.

The only company legally authorised for operations in the HOTEL PANORAMA is Turística Konrad Hidalgo, S.L. (HOVIMA). If you have purchased your stay through other unauthorised individuals or companies, you are in illegal accommodation and are helping commit fraud in breach of police laws. Your stay in Spain may therefore be considered illegal and you could be punished."




                   ...............


   

If you like to take your holidays in a Residential apartment with all the comforts of home.... you now have to buy one.[]

[Billy Brown Bum]

No consolation I know, but the same rules are being applied on the mainland as well, certainly in the Costa Del Sol/Andalusia areas that I know of, although many more there seem to have been designated `Touristic` from the start.

[fifi]

Really? I didnt know that they had started to enforce it there.

[appy ammer]

so the bottom line is if you buy a gaff you can not let it out for gain? you can however visit it and so can family and non paying guests?

fi please dont make me read the thread, i woz never any good at school;)

[fifi]

Emm sort of Appy.[][]....but in Tenerife your friends and family might be evicted.[] I hope they dont start doing that in Fuerte.[:0]

50% plus one of the owners on a Touristic complex have to be registered with a sole agent if they want to do holiday lettings.

[austin7]

Hi Fifi, thanks for the update. Good to hear that the lawyers are starting to get results, as soon as the online petition is avaialable let me know I will certainly sign it, however it is a bit much asking for NIEs, is this so the governmenbt can trace you back and check if yo are an illegal holiday maker or renter.

The regulations are overly complex, extrememly limiting, unworkable and very detructive to the tourist industry - in other words typically Spanish, however, I am sure that with a bit of promotion here, on Facebook and other publications and word of mouth we should easily achieve the 15,000 signatures necessary. So find the link - ASAP

[fifi]

Hi Austin7. I will email  Janet Anscombe now  and see if there is any further news on the Petition and will post any news here for you.

NIEs need to be given on all official Spanish Petitions. The  petitions get counted and checked by Lawyers and anyone who has not entered their details are discounted.  Aparently in Tenerife there is quite a bit of support from the owners of Bars and Restauraunts and also Taxi men who realise that ultimately their business could be affected by all of this, so I dont think there is any reason for anyone to worry about putting theirs on the Petition.

Great idea about Facebook etc

I will tell Janet that we will try and help gather the numbers.[]

[fifi]

Janets reply Austin7....



Hello Fiona, and thank you so much for contacting me. Yes, people anywhere can join the asociación, even those beyond Spain, let alone the Canaries. Fuerteventura residents or visitors will be more than welcome. The petition will eventually be online, and the lawyers are ensuring it will be in compliance with Spanish regulations for such legal petitions.

It is not at all necessary to be a member of ALOTCA first to sign the petition, though the reason we're not launching the petition right now is that we're trying to assess support for it by seeing how membership figures go. As soon as we get to the sort of number that makes a petition credible, we'll launch it, so the more members, the sooner the petition will go online.

I can imagine the interest in Fuerteventura - I have recently been made aware of the interest in Lanzarote as well. This is something that affects us all, and the Canaries and Canarians too if only they knew it.

Thank you once again - please do send on the link wherever you think it will be helpful.

With very best wishes,
Janet

[fifi]

How many people on this Forum are willing to put their NIE number on a petition to try and change the current law about letting their properties out? The petition will not be online until such a time as close to the necessary numbers (15,000) are reached. With that number of names the Government have no choice but to look into,  but not necessarily change the current law.


There is no point in giving out about the law.....unless you are willing to participate in changing it.



Power to the people.[]


Let  Fuerteventura  have a voice in the outcome.[]

[potash]

If you don't vote i can see tumble weed blowing around complexes in the very near future. Still that's probably just what they want
every one living or owning worthless property's.i don't think they under stand how this serious this whole situation is when all is needed is to let people have a licence and pay there tax's then they could control the letting business.

[fifi]

True Potash. I have been following this story for a long time. In Tenerife no one paid any attention to the Law until they received an €18,000 fine.They had an attitude of "It wont happen to us so we wont worry about it". They are willing to add their signatures  to a petition now because it has cost them all a fortune in fines and have a good team of Lawyers behind their campaign.

Inspections are happening in Fuerteventura.Fines are currently being processed. There is no point in waiting until a fine is received and your friends and family are being threatened with eviction by the Police like is currently happening in Tenerife. We are being offered a way to voice our opinion on the matter. Who knows....it may change the Law in our favour if we do.[]

I really hope people do support the campaign because it affects everyone on all the Islands.

[Cameron]

If theres a law existing in Spain which actually states that you cannot have non paying friends or relatives staying in your private home and will be liable to forced eviction if they are, i'd very much like to see it. If it does exist then what better time for the useless EU to investigate THEM and pass a few directives on property owning citizens human rights, prevention of free enterprise if renting and general harassment. But they are too busy regulating the size and shape of bananas and a myriad of other nonsensical rules.

[fifi]

This is the Law that is being used now inorder to intimidate guests in Tenerife....













"7/1995 CANARY ISLANDS TOURISM REGULATIONS ACT

Principle of unity of exploitation

Article 38.- Principle of unity of exploitation.

2. For the purposes of this Act, unity of exploitation is considered the submitting of the tourist accommodation activity to a sole company in each establishment...

Article 40.- Requirements and conditions of the unity of exploitation.
The unity of exploitation for tourist accommodation requires:
a) The allocating of a sufficient number of people to the exploitation.
b) Facilities for reception purposes that are sufficient and are permanently available to assist guests.
c) A copy of this Act and of the regulations in force at all times regarding tourist accommodation, tourism and municipal operating permit and complaint forms be kept available to guests at this reception.

CANARY ISLANDS GOVERNMENT DECREE 149/1986

GUEST REGISTER, COMPLAINT FORMS, INVOICES, PRICES AND
THE ADVERTISING THEREOF AND OF THE ESTABLISHMENT

Article 21.- Register of guests.- Guests must be previously registered and show the appropriate documents proving their identity in order to be able to use the rooms.

1/1992 PROTECTION OF CITIZENS ACT

Article 11. Foreigners in Spain are compelled to provide the necessary documentation proving their identity and that they are in Spain legally under the provisions of current regulations.

Article 12.
1. Individuals or companies undertaking activities related to citizens' security, such as those regarding accommodation,... must complete the written, informative registration established by current law.

[Finchlark]

Sorry to be a bit dim, but would be grateful if someone could clarify.  If we bought an apartment on a holiday complex we are ok to let that, right?  It's just if we wanted to let our own home there would be problems?  Also am I right that long term rentals are not affected?

[fifi]

Hi Finchlark. You would need to find out the status of your apartment and not just  the Complex. Some complexes are still operating with Touristic status and yet the apartments which have been sold privately have lost their Touristic status.It is illegal to offer holiday lets if you own one of them. If the apartment still has Touristic status you are only allowed let it out through the sole agent for the complex.. Long term lets of three months or more are allowed. There are no Licenses being given for villas any more because of the Moratorium and so long term lets only are allowed unless the property already has a licence and is registered.

[Finchlark]

Thanks, Fifi. This is a bit of a minefield!

[appy ammer]

fi has a longterm let got to go through the sole agent?

[fifi]

I think you just have to be registered as a Landlord and have a contract if you are longterm letting Appy but others may know for sure.

[appy ammer]

so in that case give everyone a 3 month let even if they only stay a week;) simples;)

[fifi]

[][][] Good idea.

[Cameron]

bloody ell i think appy ammers cracked it

[fifi]

Legally the place would be theirs for the three months though so they could  decided to let all their friends and family come over to use it for the remainder of the contract.  The next tenant could arrive and find the place is being used.[]

[fifi]

The official public notice about the extension of the moritorium of Tourist licenses has been published. http://www.gobcan.es/boc/2012/093/001.html

The current ban expires this month. Instead of the usual three year rolling extension, this time the ban has only been extended until December to give themselves time to decide how best to proceed at that point.