“We are owners, not criminals!”“Almeida, listen, we are in the fight!”, “Almeida, Carmena, we are not the problem!” With these slogans, a few dozen people demonstrated in front of Madrid City Hall to demand “fair regulations for owners of tourist residences”.
The concentration began at 12 p.m. on Tuesday. Madrid Aloja, the organizing association which represents “more than 5,000 VUTs in the region”, promoted the protest to defend “those who are hard hit by the restrictions imposed” by the City Hall of José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
Currently, the municipal government is working on new regulations for this type of business. All this because, in the opinion of the Consistory, The accommodation plan that Manuela Carmena in 2019 did not work.
Thus, the new regulations, which could be approved in the first half of 2025will divide the city into two implementation zones (inside and outside the M-30) and will prohibit the transformation of commercial premises into tourist apartments in commercial centers of virtually the entire interior of the M-30. This will also favor that VUTs are concentrated in complete buildings and are not dispersed in normal housing.
The demonstrators demanded a regulatory framework that “guarantee coexistence and economic development, without harming the most vulnerable players in the sector”. They consider that they are treated like “criminals”. It should be remembered that last April, Almeida cut off the tap on new licenses and clamped down on illegal tourist apartments. All this, at least, until the regulations he is working on in parallel come into force.
Madrid Aloja considers tourist accommodation to be an “essential pillar of the city’s economy”. “In 2023, these accommodations generated an economic impact of 2.215 million euros, which represents a significant contribution to tourism, local commerce and job creation. Despite this, measures adopted by the municipal council, such as the suspension of new licenses and the toughening of sanctions, unfairly penalize small owners who manage their VUT responsibly,” believes the association.
Madrid Aloja insists that STVs represent “less than 1% of Madrid’s real estate stock, while 19.77% “It is intended for long-term rental and more than 6% remains uninhabited.”
In this sense, They assure that there are 300,000 empty homes in the region. They know it because “they pay the IBI”, but “not the Canal de Isabel II”. Furthermore, they point out that there are 90,000 hotel beds compared to the 15,000 VUTs that operate in Madrid.
“When we talk to the police and our neighbors, we don’t have the impression that these 16,000 housing units in existence today, 8,000 with responsible declaration [de la Comunidad de Madrid]generate a hostile environment within communities and poor coexistence. We have already done what is necessary in terms of noise control, night surveillance…”, underlined the president of Madrid Aloja, Adolfo Merás.
When the Madrid City Hall suspended the granting of new licenses in April, because the Most tourist apartments (more than 90%) operated without the required municipal authorization..
“It is a form of accommodation that emerged in the 21st century, it cannot respond to 20th century legislation. We cannot return to the industrial revolution now nor can we make regulations like then from the creation of the first cars It is new and must be regulated as new. Trying to do it differently leads to this request being accepted by the usual people.“, he maintained. The employers’ spokesperson hopes that this Tuesday’s gathering “Be the first of many”.
