The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 - which in June launched an investigation to identify homes that do not have a licence to operate as tourist accommodation - has now contacted the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) with the aim that cities throughout Spain also collaborate with this investigation. According to the Ministry, this practice would be an infringement of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and would be an unfair commercial practice. This is why the Ministry has requested the cooperation of all Spanish cities to join the actions initiated with the aim of putting an end to the advertisements that are published on tourist rental platforms for unlicensed housing.
This initiative comes after Consumer Affairs has sent requests to different tourist rental platforms in order to gather information on which properties are engaging in this illegal practice; information that will now be completed with the information that local councils can provide. To this end, Consumer Affairs is placing its competences at the disposal of local councils in order to be able to work together to identify properties that are not authorised to operate as tourist accommodation and thus protect consumers and users. In addition, the ministry also pointed out to the FEMP the necessary collaboration that must exist between the different administrations not only to protect consumers, but also to ensure legal competence in a sector with an important impact on city models and their habitability.
Likewise, the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs -which has the power to impose sanctions since 2022- has warned of the possibility of opening sanctioning proceedings for these practices, which can be classified as serious infringements and punished with fines of up to 100,000 euros, an amount that could be exceeded up to four to six times the illicit profit obtained.
Source of information: Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030