Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

PROPERTY

Spain holiday homes: Which nationalities favour which coastal regions?

Where do Brits, German, French and Americans look to buy and rent homes on the Spanish coast? New stats reveal some answers.

Published: 29 July 2020 15:32 CEST
Spain holiday homes: Which nationalities favour which coastal regions?
Potential house buyers look at property for sale in Ibiza. AFP
The Spanish coastline is almost 5,000 km long.
 
It has long been at the top of the list for foreigners searching for a holiday home abroad, but different regions are popular depending on the nationality of second-home owners or renters.
 
Based on website visits from June, the Spanish real estate portal Idealista shows the areas that are most popular among holidaymakers from different countries, whether they are looking to buy or rent.
 
Germans
 
Germans represent the largest foreign group in 127 Spanish towns and villages, mostly on the country’s islands. They tend to search for properties in Mallorca, where in some towns demand from Germans surpasses that of locals. In fact, Germans make up over 60% of website visits for properties in towns like Cala d’Or, Cala Ratjada and Santanyi.
 
 
British
 
Brexit has not stopped UK buyers buying homes in Europe and Spain continues to be the top holiday location for Brits, who represent the largest foreign population in 193 Spanish coastal towns.
 
Their favourite region is, unsurprisingly, the sunniest place in Spain: the Costa del Sol. Estepona, Torremolinos and Marbella are among the most popular towns, but they are also keen on houses for sale in Ibiza, particularly in the eastern coastal town of Santa Eulalia del Río.
 
 
Americans
 
The area around Barcelona is popular among Americans, who are particularly interested in buying houses in the coastal towns of El Masnou or Sant Andreu de Llavaneres.
 
However they are also fond of towns in other provinces across the country, like Vizcaya, Cádiz and La Coruña. Interestingly, Americans represented over 50% of website visits for houses in Los Silos, a town in the northwestern part of the island of Tenerife.
 
French
 
The French seem to prefer to stay closer to home, with most of their searches located on the Costa Brava, in the northern province of Gerona.
 
Roses, Tossa de Mar, L’Escala or Sant Feliu de Guíxols are favourite spots. However some do venture further down the coast to the Valencia region, where towns like Meliana, Miramar or Cullera are popular.
 
Italians
 
Italians continue to manifest a keen interest in the Balearic Islands, specifically Formentera and Ibiza. But the more adventurous also venture to Fuerteventura in the Canary islands, in villages like La Oliva, San Bartolomé or Puerto del Rosario.
 
Swiss
 
The Swiss seem to be partial to the lush greenery and sweeping coastal views of Galicia, with a particular interest in the towns around the port city of La Coruña. However, they also concentrare in the town of Gualchos in Granada, where demand from Swiss residents is higher than from national buyers.
 
Swedish
 
The beach-side properties of Nerja in the Costa del Sol are in high demand among Swedes, who represent 63% of website visits to properties in this area in June, compared to 37% by Spaniards. They are also keen on the little resort town of Torrevieja, located on a strip of land between a lake and the Mediterranean in the province of Alicante.
 

Member comments

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

PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

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

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

SHOW COMMENTS