Do you own a property and you wish to make it touristic? Are you planning to buy a property in Valencia in order to rent it for holiday rentals? The Valencian Government has approved the decree-law of the Consell 9/2024 published on August 7 , to regulate tourist housing, with the following basic characteristics:
1. 10 DAYS MAX. OF RENTAL WITH THE SAME CLIENT
The new decree only considers as tourist accommodation the property that is rented in its entirety (it can never be rented by rooms) for a period of less than or equal to 10 consecutive days to the same tenant. This differentiates tourist accommodation from other short-term rental accommodation, the regulation of which is the responsibility of the state.
Properties that have been reserved for 11 or more days before the decree comes into force (before August 8, 2024) can maintain the agreed rental period until the end of that contract.
Furthermore, only those properties that have a favourable municipal report of urban compatibility and a unique and individualised cadastral reference that must appear in the rental contract can be considered tourist accommodation.
The same property can be rented out for tourist rental (for 10 days or less) during the period of tourist use indicated in the Tourist Registry. Valencian Community and rented for another type of use (with contracts that may exceed 10 days) always outside that period.
2. NEED FOR A CERTIFICATE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY
In order to register the property, a certificate must be provided proving that the community of owners does not prevent the use of the building’s properties for purposes other than residential, such as tourism.
3. THE REGISTRATION IN THE REGISTRY EXPIRES AFTER 5 YEARS
All tourist accommodation must be registered in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community and have a registration number. This registration must be renewed every 5 years.
If you have a tourist accommodation registered before the new decree (before August 7, 2024), your registration is valid until August 8, 2029. Afterwards, you will have to process a new registration according to the new decree.
To register a property in the Registry or renew its registration, it is necessary to fill out a declaration of compliance with all the requirements set out in the applicable regulations, indicate the property’s cadastral reference and the period of the year in which it will be rented for tourism purposes, and have a favourable urban compatibility report from the City Council where the property is located.
The registration process in the Registry can only be done online :
Please note that not providing the cadastral reference or renting the property for more than 10 days during the period indicated for tourist rental are some of the reasons that may cause you to lose your registration in the registry.
In addition to doing so every 5 years, a new registration must also be processed in the registry when the ownership of the property changes.
The owner and the commercial manager of the property may be different. The owner in the Tourism Registry will always be the commercial manager responsible for the operation , but the owner will have subsidiary liability if there are violations regarding illegal offers or clandestine activity and the identity of the owner manager is not provided.
4. NEW RESPONSIBLE DECLARATION EVERY 5 YEARS
To renew the registration, the responsible declaration must be updated one month before the end of the 5-year validity period by providing an updated urban compatibility report.
The data to be updated in the new responsible declaration varies depending on whether the property was registered before or after the new decree came into force.
The data that must be provided is also different if the property was registered before the entry into force of the Tourism Law of 2018 (before July 8, 2018). Those registered before 2018 only need to make a responsible declaration regarding compliance with the minimum requirements indicated in Annex III of the new decree regarding access, facilities, minimum dimensions and endowments.
Once the responsible declaration to register the home has been submitted, the activity as tourist accommodation must begin within two months.
5. ANOTHER REQUIREMENT: FAVORABLE URBAN COMPATIBILITY REPORT EASIER
To speed up the process of obtaining urban compatibility, the new decree provides for the possibility of requesting it directly from the City Council or instead presenting a certificate issued by one of the Municipal Administration’s Collaborating Entities in Urban Verification ( ECUVs ), which are registered with the Department of Environment, Infrastructure and Territory , provided that the municipal planning indicates differentiated areas and provisions regarding tourist housing.
This certificate has the same validity as the municipal report and must reflect the same content: essential identification data of the property, including the full address, its unique and individual cadastral reference, the land classification and the permitted urban use.
If the tourist accommodation is on non-urbanizable land, in addition to compatibility it must have a declaration of community interest.
6. EXACT LOCATION OF THE PROPERTY AND REGISTRATION NUMBER IN ALL ADVERTISING
In all types of advertising, the exact location of the property and its registration number in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community must be indicated . Failure to indicate this information will be considered a serious offence.
In addition, both the Tourism Registry and the tourist rental contract must include the unique and individual cadastral reference of the property. If the property does not have this reference in the Registry, it will be deregistered from December 31, 2024.
Community must also be displayed either at the entrance or inside .
7. RULES OF COEXISTENCE AND USE
Every tourist accommodation must have internal regulations that include:
These rules are mandatory for clients and therefore the owner or holder of the activity must provide them with a form so that they are aware of the rules and expressly accept their compliance.
8. IT IS PROHIBITED TO DELIVER KEYS IN BOXES ON THE STREET
The decree prohibits giving keys to tourists through boxes located on public roads.
also have a cleaning and linen change service and a repair and maintenance service. It is not possible to simply indicate a professional or company to carry out the repairs.
9. MINIMUM DIMENSIONS AND SERVICES
Tourist accommodation must comply with the minimum dimensions required by regulations for any residential dwelling. They must also guarantee the same lighting and ventilation conditions.
The decree specifies in its Annex 3 all the facilities, services, facilities and accesses that tourist accommodation must have. They must have an evacuation plan of the building on the door or emergency instructions in several languages, a lift from four floors onwards; a customer entrance, in the case of accommodation located on the ground floor, and a 24-hour telephone service.
They must have power outlets in all rooms with a voltage indicator, hot water, a list of emergency and useful telephone numbers located in a visible place, cooling and heating at least in the living room-dining room or living room-dining room-kitchen, internet connection, unless the home is located in a geographical area without coverage, a first aid kit, and detailed information on the nearest medical center, among others.
All tourist accommodation must have an automatic washing machine unless the building has a communal laundry available to guests. Kitchens must have at least a refrigerator, electric hob, oven/microwave, extractor fan and at least two electric burners when the accommodation does not exceed four people. For accommodations with five or more people, it must have three or more burners.
The decree gives a period of 5 years to adapt existing tourist accommodation to the new requirements.
10. FINES AND LIABILITY
The decree provides for serious and very serious infringements with fines of up to 600,000 euros. Renting out rooms or overbooking places is considered a very serious infringement.
It is a serious offence not to provide information on the exact location of the property and the registration number in all advertising, not to notify the change of ownership in accordance with the regulations or not to provide the details of the owner of the business.
