http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/1678/legal-tip-101--do-i-need-a-license-to-rent-my-apartment.aspx
Legal tip 101. Do I need a license to rent my apartment?
17 June 2009 @ 08:09
Yes, if your apartment is in Murcia, Baleares, Asturias or Pais Vasco or if it is a touristic apartment.
Let me show some reminders:
- Touristc apartments are blocks or groups of apartments, villas, bungalows and similar which are commercially marketed for rentals on a habitual basis, duly equipped with proper furnishing, installations, services and equipemnts for inmediate use. So that they can be used, an administrative license is needed. They are classifies by regional tourist authorities into categories.
The group of touristic apartmemts of every touristic development are all marketed by the same company. They must be sold as touristc apartments.
A touristic apartment is built on turistic land where residential properties are forbidden. They are usually marketed with full furnitures, front desk services, laundry utilities...
If you want to buy a touristc aparment take into account taht you need to be offered of a "Touristic exploitation contract" as an annex to the purchase contract.
And before completion, your lawyer needs to check that there is a Touristic License by the regional government in place. You can oppose completion if there is not.
- Holiday houses are regulated in a Royal Decree ( by Nacional Parliament) of 1982 (RD 2877/1982 of 15th in October of 1982 ( Nacional Oficial Bulletin of 9th in November).This Royal Decree is still in force and defines Holiday Houses as individual units of apartments, bungalows, villas, houses, similars and ,in general, any dwelling which, regardless its furnishing conditions, equipment, installations and services, are offered for renting with touristic or holiday purposes.
In most regions of Spain, the only requirement for its opening and running is, according to provision 18 of the 1982 RD, the communication to the Touristic Services of the Autonomous Community regarding its destination to touristic traffic. So, just a legalised duplicated copy of that comunication (it is not a license, just a communication and you are always allowed to rent) , is needed for a legal renting of your apartment.
There are some specific spanish regions ( Comunidad Autónoma) that, by force of Administrative regional Regulations, have regulated detailed requirements to be met by the Holiday houses: Baleares, Murcia, Asturias and Pais Vasco.
MURCIA
In Murcia region, if you make publicity regarding the renting of the apartment or have it rented twice or more a year for time which as a whole, exceeds one month. If you meet these criteria you need an authorisation by the regional government and are obliged to:
1.- Post a disctinctive signal at the entrance of the apartment
2.- Have a claims book for tenants in English, Spanish, French and another language of free election.
3.- Hire a civil liability insurance
4.- Register personal data of tenants for future ststistics of the region.
5.- Schedule to be offered needs to be 17:00 of entrance day and 12:00 of final day.
6.- Have clean apartment.
Minimum services and these supplies will be contained within the price:
a) Permanent cold and hot water.
b) Gas and/or electric energy
c) Entrance cleaning..
d) Linen changes once a week.
e) TV.
f) Rubbish collection or required bins according to Local regulations.
The application for the required authorisation before the regional tourism authorities needs to contain:
1.- Application form
2.- Certified copy of the First Occupation License
3.- Property title
The opening license will not entail classification.
In Andalucia, where just the National legislation is enforceable as there has not been regional law development on this so far, provision 45 of the General Tourism Act of 15th in December of 1999, specify the conditions for the use of holiday houses ( both rural and urban) just say that they need to be furnished and have the necessary belongings for inmediate use and a reference to future administrative regulations for the specification of minimum requirements to be met by these.
Pod of dolphins in Algeciras Bay by Amateur Photo Bore at Flickr.com
ANDALUCIA