The Decree Law approved at the beginning of August is based on the need to urgently implement
certain measures in order to put an end to the “uncontrolled phenomenon of illegal properties”.
These measures came into force on August 8, 2024.
What are the most relevant changes of this new regulation?
1.- Duration of stays. To differentiate tourist rentals from other types of leasing, stays of less
than or equal to 10 days with the same tenant will be considered tourist stays (provided that the
other requirements established in the regulations are met in order to consider that we are dealing
with a dwelling for tourist use).
2.- As regards the requirements for the provision of the service, new quality requirements are
required, among which we must highlight that:
(i) the delivery of keys through boxes located on the public highway is prohibited
and
(ii) (ii) it is mandatory to have a 24-hour service telephone number.
3.- The prohibition of renting out such tourist accommodation by individual room remains
in place. Remember that Law 15/2018 already required that the use of the accommodation be
transferred in its entirety.
4.- Tourist accommodation must have a unique and individualized cadastral reference for each
property or tourist dwelling.
To this effect, this new regulation imposes on tourist accommodation already in operation the
obligation to communicate to the Administration the cadastral reference of the property before
December 31, 2024. Otherwise, the property will be deregistered in the Tourism Registry of the
Valencian Community.
5.- The inscription in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community shall be cancelled
in the following cases:
a) Declaration of the cessation of the activity, by whoever appears as holder in the Register.
b) The inaccuracy, falsehood or omission, of essential character, of any data, manifestation or
document that is accompanied or incorporated to a communication or responsible declaration.
c) The modification or disappearance of the circumstances and requirements that gave rise to the
inscription in the Register.
d) When the activity or service has not been initiated, after 2 months from the presentation of the
responsible declaration that is mandatory.
e) Certification issued by the competent administration of the final resolution in administrative
proceedings that determines the lack of the preceptive authorizations or licenses for the exercise
of the activity, previous processing of the corresponding file.
f) When it is verified by the inspection of tourism the cessation of tourist activity for more than 1
year.
6.- In the case of transfer of ownership of a property for tourist use already registered in
the Tourism Registry, the enabling title that allows the activity to be carried out is lost, so it is
necessary for the new owner to present the corresponding, responsible declaration and municipal
report on urban development compatibility, applying to the said dwelling the legal regime and
requirements in force at the time of the presentation of the aforementioned responsible
declaration.
7.- In order to speed up the processing of the licenses for tourist use, the collaborating entities of
the Administration (ECUV) are authorized to issue the “equivalent document” to the urban
development compatibility report that until now could only be issued by the municipal
technicians, provided, however, that the corresponding municipal planning is zoned and includes
provisions for such dwellings.
8.- Planning limitations on tourist use.
The Town and City Councils are authorized to introduce, based on reasons of general interest,
limitations regarding the maximum number of tourist homes per building, sector, area, or zone.
However, such limitations must always be “proportionate”.
These limitations, according to the regulation, “must obey clear, unequivocal and objective
criteria, to which due publicity has been given prior to their application”.
In the same way, the Town and City Councils are responsible for the supervising and controlling
compliance with the conditions required for the properties for tourist use.
Finally, it is foreseen that it will be possible to delegate to the City Councils the right to investigate
instruct and resolve the sanctioning procedures for infractions, committed in relation to properties
used for tourist use located in their territorial area, as well as for the administrative review of the
acts derived from such sanctioning procedures.
9.- Transitional regime with respect to the validity of the inscription in the Tourism Registry:
It is established with general character that the inscription in the Registry of Tourism has a validity
of 5 years, from which time it will have to be renewed although the Decree Law distinguishes
between:
a) The properties for tourist use that at the date of entry into force of this Decree Law are already
registered in the Tourism Registry on a date after the entry into force of Law 15/2018, will
maintain the validity of the registration for a period of 5 years from the entry into force of the
Decree, that is, from August 8th 2024 until August 8th 2029, date on which they must submit a
new responsible declaration of renewal in order to be able to continue with the activity, complying
with all the requirements established for this purpose in Article 23 bis of the Decree Law.
b) However, the tourist-use properties registered in the Tourism Registry prior to the entry into
force of Law 15/2018, will only be obliged to submit the responsible declaration of renewal, only
referring to compliance with the minimum requirements of Annex III.
10.- Properties included in a Community of Owners: It is also important to point out that in
order for new tourist use properties that begin their activity after the entry into force of the abovementioned
Decree Law to be able to be registered in the Tourism Registry, a registration
certificate will be required to prove that neither the constitutive title nor the statutes of the
community of owners, or any agreement thereof, determine the impossibility of using such a
property for purposes other than housing as a habitual residence.
However, the Decree expressly states that this requirement will not be required for homes
registered prior to the entry into force of this Decree Law.
11.- As a general rule, with respect to tourist accommodation that is found in premises for tertiary
use in existing buildings (ground floors), it is required that these comply with “the design and
quality standards for residential buildings, with respect to the relationship between the different
spaces or enclosures, linear dimensions, horizontal and vertical circulations, ventilation and
lighting openings, parking spaces and lighting and ventilation of the homes and the building”.
However, in order to facilitate the use and adaptation of these premises from tertiary use to tourist
use, the application of some flexible criteria is permitted (detailed in article 3 paragraph 9 of the
Decree Law, which modifies article 49 of Decree 10/2021, of January 22, of the Consell, which
regulates tourist accommodation in the Valencian Community, referring to the design and quality
standards applicable to tourist housing. Safety and accessibility requirements).
12.- In terms of infringements and sanctions, we emphasize that the owners of tourist
accommodation (which need not necessarily coincide with the manager of the same), are
attributed a subsidiary liability with respect to infringements regarding the illegal supply or
clandestine activity in those cases in which, when required to identify the physical or legal persons
who own the corresponding tourist activity, they do not indicate it within the period indicated by
the requirement.
Likewise, some reasons for infringement have been added to the already existing ones, such as
the refusal of the owners of the tourist establishments, including properties for tourist use, to
provide the identity and contact data of the owners in charge of the tourist activity, as well as the
contract or authorization necessary for the performance of such activity, or any other appropriate
document for such purposes, is considered a serious infringement liable to be punished with a fine
from 10.001 € to 100,000 €, without prejudice to the possibility of ordering the temporary closure
of the establishment or the temporary suspension of the exercise of the tourist profession.
