Carlos Baos – Prohibition of Tourist Rentals

New favourable court decision. Prohibition of Tourist Rentals in Homeowner’s Associations in Spain.

In a recent legal victory, our legal team achieved the nullity of a tourist rental ban within a Community of Owners. This judicial success highlights the importance of understanding Horizontal Property Law and seeking expert legal advice when establishing this type of limitation or restriction.

Background and Legal Basis

Tourist rentals have been in the eye of the storm for years. To such an extent, that in 2019 the legislator modified the Horizontal Property Law allowing the possibility of limiting or conditioning these rentals by qualified majority. The key question is: once this prohibition is approved, if someone else buys a property in the community… is the new buyer also bound by this prohibition? Let us answer through the present case.

Case Study: Overturning a Tourist Rental Ban

Our client purchased an apartment, applied for a tourist licence, and started renting her property in 2020. The Community of Owners later informed her of the existence of an Internal Regulation prohibiting such rentals and threatened legal action. After studying the case, our client initiated a legal proceeding in court to clarify her rights in relation to tourist rentals.

Court Ruling: The Prohibition is null and void

The Court has confirmed several crucial points argued in our complaint:

.- First. The community’s method of instituting the rental ban was flawed. Internal regulations cannot impose limitations on property rights. The ban should have been established by means of the by-laws of the community.

.- Second. The prohibition cannot apply to our client since it was not registered in the Land Registry when she became owner. Art. 5 of the Horizontal Property Law is clear: buyers are not constrained by prohibitions such as this, unless the restriction has been registered (are therefore, is public) in the Land Registry. It this case, the prohibition had been approved by the Homeowner’s Association, but had not been properly registered in the Land Registry before our client bought the apartment.

For all the above, the court has declared the nullity of the tourist rental ban, affirming our client’s right to conduct such activities.

Conclusion

At White Baos Lawyers, we specialise in Tourist Rentals, Horizontal Property Law and community of owners’ disputes. If your community of owners faces a conflict related to tourist rentals, reach out to us for expert legal advice. We are dedicated to resolving legal issues and ensuring that your rights are protected.

You may be interested in the following services and articles:

Tourist rental in Valencian Community. Rules. Documents. Advice.

Prohibition of tourist rental. We analyse the legal situation three years later. Problems in communities of owners. Land Registry. Jurisprudence. Legal advice.

Noisy Neighbours and prohibited activities. Legal actions..

Carlos Baos (Lawyer)

White & Baos.

Tel: +34 966 426 185

E-mail: info@white-baos.com

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