The plenary session of the Supreme Court handed down two judgments in which it declared that communities of owners can prohibit tourist rental activity by agreements adopted at a meeting by a three-fifths majority. In two judgments of September 25 to which laSexta had access, the Chamber ruled for the first time on the 2019 decree on emergency measures in matters of housing and rental.
What the Supreme Court clarified is whether the ban on tourist activities described in the law on urban leases (LAU), must be adopted by a three-fifths majority or unanimously of the owners. The magistrates consider the prohibition contained in the statutes of a community of owners to rent accommodation for tourist use to be lawful.
The ban on the use of private elements in the horizontal property regime is legitimate and consistent with the Constitution, adds the Supreme Court, which is refers to the doctrine already presented by the Constitutional Court. Horizontal property law rejects that this is a case of interpretation of a legal norm under restrictive conditions and concludes that, taking into account the grammatical and semantic criteria and its literality, the term “limit” does not exclude the ban.
The 2019 law justifies the adoption of urgent measures given the difficulties of access to rental housing due to the increase in rents, an increase which is due, among other factors, to the growing phenomenon of tourist rentals. For this reason, the Supreme Court considers that authorizing the veto with this three-fifths majority is a proportionate measure; Furthermore, he emphasizes that if this three-fifths majority is not admitted, a vote against by the owner of the property would be sufficient. ground in which the activity is intended to be carried out to prevent the adoption of the agreement.
