Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

PROPERTY

Can my neighbours stop me from renting out my Spanish flat on Airbnb?

It’s a common question – can I rent out my apartment in Spain on Airbnb or other short-term rental websites? The answer depends on many different factors, and whether your community of neighbours can prevent it is one of them.

Published: 8 March 2023 16:31 CET
Updated: 20 May 2023 08:02 CEST
Can my neighbours stop me from renting out my Spanish flat on Airbnb?
Rules around Airbnb in Vienna are already quite strict - and will be tightened further from July 2024. Photo: Peggy / Pixabay

Renting out your Spanish home on Airbnb or other rental sites can of course be tricky , with many regions requiring tourist licences, restricting the locations of tourist accommodation and some stating that you must get permission from your community of neighbours first.

There’s also the question of your community of neighbours, referred to La Comunidad or Comunidad de Vecinos in Spanish, which is like a homeowner’s association of everyone who owns a property in the same building or complex. 

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

Can your community of neighbours actually prevent you from renting out your apartment on Airbnb?

Spain’s Horizontal Property Law which was modified in 2019 to add an extra clause specifically regarding this matter.

It states: “The agreement that limits or conditions the exercise of the activity referred to in letter e) of article 5 of Law 29/1994, of November 24th, on Urban Leases, in the terms established in the tourism sector regulations, whether or not it involves modification of the constitutive title or the bylaws, will require the favourable vote of three-fifths of the total number of owners who, in turn, represent three-fifths of the participation quotas”.

This seems to suggest that in order to be able to rent your property out to tourists on platforms such as Airbnb, you will need at least three-fifths of your community of neighbours to agree to it.

The particular wording of the law has been the subject of much legal controversy and judicial interpretation. The reason is because the wording only mentions the possibility for communities to “limit or condition” tourist use but they do not have the power to “prohibit” since the law does not expressly so say so.

In some regions in Spain, this law is being upheld and communities of neighbours have been able to prohibit people from renting out their properties to tourists, while in others it has been open to interpretation.  

What makes it even more tricky is that many regions also have their own laws on tourist accommodation, which really restrict whether you can rent your property out to tourists, depending on its location, its floor and if tourist licences are even available.

Some of these also state that you need permission from your comunidad, while others do not specifically state this. 

READ ALSO – EXPLAINED: What are Spain’s rules and taxes for Airbnb rentals?

The example of Córdoba 

A recent ruling by the Provincial Court of Córdoba stated that communities of owners cannot prohibit residents from renting out their apartments to tourists, if the rule was not included in the original statutes of the building or, failing that, it is unanimously assumed.

The ruling rejected the appeal filed by a community of owners in the Andalusian city against the decision of the court that annulled this agreement for being abusive and contrary to the law.

The Provincial Court of Córdoba was also also against the idea that the majority of owners should be able to affect a homeowner’s choice and also noted the damage that it can cause for the owner when selling their apartment because it may decrease in value if the purchaser isn’t allowed to rent it out to tourists. 

Therefore, the ruling concluded that the Horizontal Property Law does not allow owners to deprive their neighbours of the possibility of using their flats for tourist rentals.  

When the law was modified in 2019 to allow the owners to limit this activity in the building if they received a vote of three-fifths, they were not actually being given the choice to prohibit it completely. The problem, the magistrates see, is that the text of the regulation is ambiguous.

The example of Pontevedra 

Córdoba is not the only province in Spain to have ruled this way. Recently the Provincial Court of Pontevedra in Galicia overturned a ruling to void the agreement of a community of neighbours to prohibit tourist rentals in their building because it was not unanimously voted for.

They endorsed the majority three-fifths rule. However, it is still somewhat disputed at a Supreme Court level.  

Catalonia

In Catalonia, the law does prohibit the renting out of apartments to tourists if over 80 percent of the community of neighbours don’t want it.  

Valencia 

In Valencia, besides the list of rules you need to comply with, such as your apartment being located on the ground or first floor, the rules state that if your accommodation is in a community of neighbors, it will be necessary to verify that the rules of the community of neighbors to make sure they do not prohibit or limit the activity.  

They don’t, however, mention that you must get permission from them or that they can prohibit you from renting it out.  

Canary Islands

In the Canary Islands, renting out your property to tourists is highly regulated and there are many rules about the types of buildings and locations that will depend on whether or not you can rent it out to tourists or not. If your property meets all the other requirements, then according to law firm Ilisastigui Abogados, “renting out to tourists will be legal as long as there is no agreement to the contrary by the owners association”. 

Given all of this, it’s clear that it’s not just regions that have their own rulings on the matter, but provinces too, like in the cases of Córdoba and Pontevedra.

This means that it will completely depend on where your property is in the country as to whether your homeowners’ association can prohibit you or not. Even if they do prohibit you, it seems that there is always the chance in some areas that you could take it to court and it will be overturned. 

The best option is to contact your local ayuntamiento or town hall and find out what the specific rules are in your area. It’s also important to look at the homeowner association rules that you will have received when you bought the property in the first place as it’s likely this will also answer your question. 

As so often happens in Spain, there is no nationwide law which applies to every municipality when it comes to needing permission from your community of neighbours to rent out your place. If you are going to research how to get a licence to let out your place, try to find out as well what the local bylaws are regarding your comunidad. 

In Airbnb Spain’s own words, “consider letting your neighbours know you’re hosting and explaining what steps you plan to take to make sure guests won’t disturb them”.

READ ALSO: Which cities have new restrictions on tourism rentals?

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

LEGAL HELP

Noisy local fiestas: What to do when your Spanish town hall is responsible

Town and city fiestas are commonplace in Spain and they’re part of what made many of us fall in love with the country in the first place, but sometimes the town hall can overstep and the noise pollution just gets too much to bear for neighbours.

Published: 22 May 2024 09:35 CEST
Noisy local fiestas: What to do when your Spanish town hall is responsible

It’s bad enough in Spain when you have to deal with noisy neighbours or loud bars and clubs, but what about when the culprit is your ayuntamiento (town hall) or city council?

If you want to know what your rights are on noise from construction, find out here, what to do about noisy neighbours here and about bars and clubs here. 

During these local fiestas (every city, town and village has at least one a year), councils set up concert and performance venues form of open-air stages or tents called casetas or carpas.

In these cases, there’s often no sound insulation and the noise carries much further as everything happens outside.

Even though these festivals may only go one for a week or two, they can often disturb residents who aren’t in attendance and are trying to sleep.

You could be someone who needs extra sleep like a doctor, nurse or firefighter, you may be ill or have small children, there are many reasons why you might not be able or want to join in. Even if you are in the minority, your rights should still be respected.

In fact, in places such as Barcelona, when the local Gràcia festival takes place, there’s so much noise created by neighbourhood organisers that some people even decide to leave their apartments for the week as they know they won’t be able to sleep.

This option is of course not open to everyone, and in truth, you shouldn’t have to leave your home temporarily because of a celebration that is supposed to bring joy to the local population.

So, what can you legally do and what are your rights?

Even city and town councils must continue to comply with municipal by-laws during local fiestas. The Spanish Civil Code guarantees that you should have respect in your own home.

Law 40/2015, of October 1st, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, which came into force in October 2016, establishes that “Public Administrations objectively serve the general interests and act in accordance with the principles of effectiveness, hierarchy, decentralisation and coordination, with full submission to the Constitution and the Law”. 

This means that even the authorities must uphold the law and serve their people. They have a public responsibility to manage and to do it to the best of their abilities.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you stand a much better chance of getting your council to listen if you find other people who are affected too, so it’s not just you complaining on your own.

Make sure to talk to your neighbours or others living on the same street to find out if they’re also affected by the noise and form a group of people who share your grievances.

In theory, councils and ayuntamientos are in charge of enforcing celebration schedules, making sure the volume of music isn’t too loud, controlling the capacity at venues and enforcing alcohol laws so that people are not drinking on the street (if it’s not allowed in that region).

READ ALSO – FACT CHECK: No, Spain’s Balearics haven’t banned tourists from drinking alcohol

According to Law 7/2002 on protection against noise pollution, these are the maximum sound levels allowed for leisure venues:

Nightclubs: 104 decibels

Venues with musical entertainment: 90 decibels

Game rooms: 85 decibels

Bars and restaurants: 80 decibels

Find out if the festival events and activities infringe on any of these rules and regulations above and if they do then you have a case to take to your town hall.

Technically, the festivals should take place at a local fairground or somewhere away from the main residential area, but we know that this is not always the case. The concerts and events often happen in the very streets and squares where people live.

Firstly, you need to contact your ayuntamiento or local council or explain the problem. It’s best if you put it in writing so there’s a record of what you’ve said.

Try to include as much evidence as possible as to how the festivals are breaking the rules and include testimonials from as many neighbours as you can.

Organisers may not listen to you the first time, but if you keep contacting them, they will be forced to listen and have to respond.

If the situation is the same every year and they still don’t change anything, then you and your neighbours should contact a lawyer to represent you and take the matter to court.

This has actually been done several times by different communities throughout the country and in many instances, the law has sided with the people instead of the authorities.

In 2017, the Superior Court of Justice of Navarra, sided with a community of owners in Mutilva Baja when they complained about noise coming from an outdoor tent which had been erected for the festivities of the local patron saint. They claimed it was noise pollution above the legal levels and said the council had done nothing to try and reduce it.  

In another case in Getafe, thanks to a neighbourhood protest led by a lawyer specialising in noise pollution called Ricardo Ayala, the carnival celebrations were moved to the fairgrounds on the outskirts of the city.

Again in 2022, in Castilla-La Mancha, the Supreme Justice Tribunal imposed a sentence on the the Puerto Lápice City Council due to damages derived from noise pollution from musical events held in the town square.

The celebrations were not forced to be stopped completely but the council did have to agree with a limitation on hours and noise levels specifically for the concerts held in tents outside. It did not affect any other part of the festival.

Therefore, it is possible to take legal action against your ayuntamiento if they are breaking the law, but there’s no guarantee it will be a straightforward process.

SHOW COMMENTS