Renting out house for holidays

[baynigg]

Can anyone tell me what I would need to do to (legally) rent out my house for a few weeks each year to holiday makers? I have trawled the internet and asked various people but can not find a definitive answer. I have a property in the Torrox area but am not a full time resident. Thanks

[ashtondav]

Can anyone tell me what I would need to do to (legally) rent out my house for a few weeks each year to holiday makers? I have trawled the internet and asked various people but can not find a definitive answer. I have a property in the Torrox area but am not a full time resident. Thanks

You won't find a definitive answer, because various places interpret the law differently (this is spain).

Just go to your town hall and ask them what you need to do. They'll tell you what they expect.

There is a new law that has just been passed but so far no one knows the detail of it's implementation.

[El Cid]

The new law about holiday rentals has been discussed in this thread

http://www.andalucia.com/forums/viewtop ... 22&t=30810

Sid

[anis]

I have just come across some information about the new rental laws. Hope this may help.
Not sure if you can open the link. Each region seems to have a different ruling.

http://www.spain-holiday.com/rentalbuzz ... w-in-spain

As far as I can see, it simply asks people to register for their licences, pay their rental taxes and get an energy certificate. For me and many others on here, that means doing nothing at all.
In other words, it would seem that they are simply asking people to abide by current rules that have always been in place, certainly since I have been here - 2000 ?
The energy certificates are new, but in line with the rest of Europe. My only objection is how much it cost me to obtain 3 of them.
Someone made a mention on another thread about the need for owning 3 properties. I think that does not apply in Andalucia and they were talking about apartments. I have been researching it and found some information about it at www libremercado.com
I am unsure about the references they are using in this link above. As far as I know , we have rural licences and they are viviendas rurales or next one up, casa rurales and not referred to as above. Viviendas are without services. The last group in ascending order is hotel rurales.

It still leaves much to the imagination however unless they decide to introduce a completely new licence. By this I mean, how does someone with an apartment / or someone with a house for rental on an urbanisation/ or someone in the vicinity of an hotel/or properties not in the correct catchment areas and these are very small areas in rural locations.
Perhaps I am wrong but I have not heard of urban licences ? The Junta have long promoted rural tourism here in Andalucia but that means rentals away from towns, hotels etc.,not on urbanisations, etc., They are supposed to have their own water and storage back ups if this all goes awry.
I do not know if the hotels have put pressure on the senate and congress to pass this law but it would make sense that the hotels were not so concerned about rural tourism because it is not in competition with them, it provides accommodation in areas where there is none.
As far as I can see it is a matter of waiting for more clarification.

[ashtondav]

Sorry, but it's as clear as mud.

Where is the official Spanish/Andalucian/Axarquia/Ayuntamiento website that tells you:

1. What you have to have (ie electricity certificate, x no of fire extinguishers etc)
2. Where you go to register
3. What you ask for
4. What you have to take with you.

So far no one anywhere (including town hall) has been able to tell me. And there's a deafening silence here, too.

[anis]

It's as clear as mud because they havent properly implemented it yet although there have always been rules about renting. You have always in the past, had to apply for rental house tourism licences for vivienda ruales/casa rurales at the Junta de Andalucia Turismo. I only know about rural places and I don't know much either, so don't ask me about urban licences and those for the ones I mentioned in my previous post because I haven't a clue and never heard there was such a licence other than the ones I have.
I had my lawyer make the applications for rural licences for me because I could not understand the forms, my Spanish is not good enough.
The Junta has forms which will tell you what you need in the way of fire extinguishers, room sizes, water etc.,
I couldn't tell you what you have to take with you because I didn't go any where. An architect was hired to do plans of my houses and they were submitted to the Junta. It was a fairly lengthy process if I recall so heaven help us all if they create a new type of licence - we will all be waiting in our graves for the last one to finish.

[Enrique]

"rent out my house for a few weeks each year "

From the above Posts, it would be better to forget the whole idea............

PS : I'm doing some reseach with IE for Nimrod.............so this a throw away post...........

[ashtondav]

For me and many others on here, that means doing nothing at all.

No. Sorry but that's completely wrong.

There is a new law, and it is not the same as the old law so you have to do something different. To be very clear, the new law is not simply enforcing the old law. If that were the case you would be correct: you need to do nothing.

Andalucia, as far as I have ascertained, has done nothing to clarify what (EXACTLY) extra or different you have to do to comply with the new law.

No one knows...

[peteroldracer]

ashtondave - you have been a member here since 2005, and yet you have still not realised that things just do not work that way in Spain. There is no point getting shirty with the Junta, or indeed the good folk on A.com when you have yet to realise that this country operates on an inefficiency level that bears comparison with rural Patagonia....lol

[ashtondav]

Very true.

After a good night's sleep, i'm now all serene once more and will re-commence my daily dose of sedatives before pondering "the Spanish rental laws" again.

Apologies if anyone thought i was getting at anyone!

[gerryh]

There is a little book in kindle ***deleted*** It has some good info on what is happening.

As your name is costabravaRENT, did you write the book perchance?
Cheers
Gerry

[scotty]

There is a little book in kindle called ***deleted*** has some good info on what is happening.

As your name is costabravaRENT, did you write the book perchance?
Cheers
Gerry

So what if he did. In the current climate everyone deserves at least one free plug.

[El Cid]

Not on this forum they don't!

Same rule for everyone however relevant the product might be.

In this case the OP has the opportunity to refute the suggestion that he is involved.

If there is no response within the next 24 hours the post will be deleted.

Sid

[gerryh]

So what if he did. In the current climate everyone deserves at least one free plug.

I personally don't have a problem with someone offering their services IF they are honest enough to say so and not post a " just read a good book/ been to an excellent restaurant/ this builder is first class or whatever" type message, particularly when it is their first message.
Cheers
Gerry

[beachbabe]

I am glad this thread has been revived as i am going to be renting out a place for holiday makers.

Is there any more detail (FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES) on what EXACTLY one must do.

Desparate for proper information.

[pete_l]

I am glad this thread has been revived as i am going to be renting out a place for holiday makers.

Is there any more detail (FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES) on what EXACTLY one must do.

Desparate for proper information.

It turns out there is NO proper, official, information. The reasons being that:

1)There are many, often conflicting, laws. Few of which have been tested through the courts
2)The laws and the vigour with which they are enforced vary with location, which just magnifies the problems of the first point

I would suggest that while this situation may be accidental, it's a great help to every party that wishes to quash small rental operations - even ones that want to "do things by the book". Even if you *did* find a solution that was practical, legal and effective now - all it would take would be a change in someone's interpretation of a law somewhere, or a re-think in which ones were more important laws than others, or even some new law, rule or regulation in the future and you'd be scuppered.
This seems to apply not just to rental, but to anyone trying to start a small business in Spain.

[Bongtrees]

I have just been told that an energy certificate is not required if the property is rented for less than 4 months each year................ I don't know if it is true or not unfortunately.

[fuentearriba]

It is now necessary to have a minimum of 3 holiday rental accommodations within a property in order to register with Registro de Turismo de Andalucía

[anis]

I have also heard that, but as a rumour. Do you have a definite source ?

[chrissiehope]

Just curious - is that 3 separate buildings/apartments, or 3 bedrooms ?