​Rental licenses and tourist rentals what you need to know!

Since August 8, 2024, new legislation applies to tourist rentals in the Comunidad Valencia, which includes the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida, the areas in which Bel-Chic Properties mainly operates.

It should be clear that much of what is provided in the new decree will still have to find its way into practice. For example, rental providers and rental platforms will still have to provide the necessary adjustments

We list for you some important changes introduced in the Royal Decree Law 9/2024:

• A. The definition of “Tourist rental”
• B. Rental per room is not permitted
• C. Validity and transferability of rental licenses
• D. License renewal or loss of registration
• New quality requirements for service provision

The rental of a property for 10 days or less to the same tenant is considered touristic, provided that the rules for tourist accommodation are met.

It is forbidden to rent out rooms, the entire house must be rented, renting per room falls under different regulations (Casa Rural or B&B). This law has already been clarified in Law 15/2018 but has been repeated due to the many abuses surrounding this.

- All newly issued licenses are valid for 5 years

- All existing licenses from July 1, 2018 are valid for 5 years

- As a rule, the licenses are NOT transferable. When selling the real estate object, a new rental license must be requested.

In order to renew the existing License for a new 5 years, the license holder must submit a declaration of honor for renewal within the MONTH before the expiry of these 5 years, attaching the necessary documents such as certificates of conformity, valid EPC certificate as well as a declaration that the owners' association (if applicable) allows renting, etc.

If an application for a grant is not submitted on time, the license will automatically be deleted from the register.

When transferring a real estate object to a new owner that has a registered license, the new owner must apply for a new renewal of the license.

Only one tourist license can be requested per cadastral reference.

The decree law requires all current holders of a tourist license to provide the cadastral reference of the property before December 31, 2024.

It is very important that you as a current license holder check if the Cadastral number is mentioned. If not, the registration will be AUTOMATICALLY CANCELLED in the register of tourism of the communidad Valenciana!

• -There is a BAN on handing over keys via lockers on public roads
• -There is an OBLIGATION to provide a 24/7 telephone number

To clarify, the tenant must be able to collect the keys from a physical person somewhere, so key boxes are no longer an option, and the tenant must also be able to contact this physical person at all times in the event of problems.

The Municipal restrictions on tourist rentals

Municipalities retain the authority to introduce restrictions on the maximum number of tourist homes per building, sector, area, zone and region based on the general interest. Of course, these restrictions must be published publicly, a decision per Cadastral reference is excluded, these decisions must be proportionate for each property owner.

The municipalities are responsible for monitoring and controlling compliance with the requirements for tourist housing.

The power to handle procedures for sanctions for infringements in the area of tourist housing on their territory can be exercised by each municipality through their own administrative service.

Transition period for already registered rental licenses

Because the existing rental licenses will also have a new validity period of 5 years, their registration must be extended. In the Royal Decree Law 9/2024, a distinction is made between the following situations:

1. Registrations since law 15/2008
2. Registrations before law 15/2018

The validity of these registrations is also 5 years from the start date of the Royal Decree. To clarify, this means from 8 August 2024 to 8 August 2029. The new declaration must be submitted in the previous month if they wish to apply for an extension for their activity, and they must also meet all the requirements set out in Article 23a of the Royal Decree. (See point C above for validity period)

Here too, the validity of these registrations is also 5 years from the commencement date of the royal decree. However, the home must also meet the comfort requirements such as air conditioning and heating in the living room and bedrooms. The exception here is that there is NO requirement to have permission from the owners' association to rent out.

New application or transfer of ownership

From August 8, 2024, the rental application must meet all requirements, such as permission from the municipality (compatibility report), all comfort requirements, approval from the owners' association, an energy performance certificate, a declaration of honor regarding the rental period, etc. All these documents must be submitted for both a new application and a transfer of ownership.