Madrid follows in the footsteps of Barcelona and has decided to put a stop to housing for tourist use. In the city there are a total of 13,502 tourist apartments, but only 941 have a municipal license. That is, a total of 12,561 apartments operate illegally. They represent 93%. With this reality, the mayor, José Luis Martínez Almeida, announced yesterday that the granting of new licenses is frozen and the penalties will be increased, which can reach 190,000 euros.
Specifically, the Madrid council suspends the granting of new authorizations until the modifications to the general plan are approved, during the first quarter of 2025. To increase the surveillance of this type of tourist accommodation, the Madrid council will increase the number of inspectors during this summer, up to 75, 15% more.
“These more than 12,000 homes without a license cannot operate before or now because they are illegal,” the press spokesperson for the Department of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility tells La Vanguardia. “The new action plan, very aggressive, aims for these homes to reestablish their use as residential homes and stop operating as homes for tourist use. If they are inspected and found to be operating without a license, they will be fined up to 190,000 euros.”
If the owner does not comply with the municipal order and it is subsequently found that they are still operating until now, coercive fines of 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 euros will be imposed.
With the new regulations, if they are ordered to cease said business and they continue to fail to comply, the first firm penalty will be 30,001 euros; the second, of 60,001 euros and the third of 100,001 if the operation continues. “This is a very ambitious plan and cumulative sanctions, which will not compensate the owners to continue offering their homes as tourist accommodation illegally,” the same sources point out.
The problem is that many of these homes cannot be legalized because they do not meet some of the required requirements, such as being located on the ground floor and with direct access without going through the stairs so as not to disturb the rest of the neighbors. Hence, they operate irregularly.
