Palma Councilors announce there will be an apartment rental ban on Mallorca
The Town Hall of Palma on the Island of Mallorca has made a shock announcement that there will be an apartment rental ban on Mallorca in the city this summer causing what amounts to widespread panic from holidaymakers who have already booked their accommodation.
Property owners who flaunt the ban and honour the bookings they have taken risk being hit with a £34,215 fine (€40,000).
Although the incoming Mayor of Palma announced last week plans to ban tourist rental apartments outright this summer it seems he has jumped the gun since such a law isn’t legally binding. It would have to be approved by the regional government of the Balearics (the Govern Balear), which covers Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
The Tourism Department of the “ Govern Balear” is currently in the process of drafting new regulations to tackle the holiday rental industry but these are not due to come into effect before the beginning of 2018, at the earliest.
Even so, the Town Hall of Palma has reiterated that it has every intention to carry out the ban on all short-stay apartment rentals in the city this summer, even if the regional law is not passed in time.
Currently, all holiday rental apartments in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are unregulated. The ruling does not affect holiday rental villas which have a Tourist Licence registration number.
The purpose of this apartment rental ban on Mallorca is to tackle the growing problem of spiralling long term rental prices and availability affecting local residents. However, figures from the Balearic Government appear to contradict this reason behind the summer holiday apartment ban.
Jannich Petersen, COO of holiday rental company Spain-Holiday.com commented “Previously, the holiday rental industry in Spain has been unregulated and bringing in a uniform set of rules and regulations is a good thing for holidaymakers, property owners and locals alike,” explained.
“Spain-Holiday.com has a very hands-on approach guiding our holiday rental owners through the registration process to obtain their Tourist Licence according to the requirements set out by each regional government. We will continue to do so in the Balearic Islands, working towards the new Tourism regulations due to be imposed in 2018.”
