What can and cannot be done with tourist apartments in Madrid: the four main rules of today

There are 13,502 apartments on offer in the city of Madrid, according to the latest data offered by the Government Department of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility. And only 1,008 have the necessary building permit to operate. In other words, 92.52 percent are illegal. To stop this notable increase in tourist apartments operating illegally and without authorization in the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced in April an “action plan” which consisted of freezing the granting of licenses for a year, until April 2025., and toughen the fines, which can reach 190,000 euros. Since then, Cibeles has been preparing its new regulations to stop the proliferation of this type of apartment. And today, Almeida announced during the city’s plenary session the outlines of the future ordinance that will regulate these housing units. “In two weeks we will present a special plan for the protection of the residential area of ​​Madrid which aims to increase the availability of housing in the center and to definitively regulate housing for tourist use,” detailed the councilor. In March 2019, the government of Manuela Carmena approved a Special Accommodation Plan (PEH) aimed at ending more than 10,000 housing units. An “absolutely ineffective” regulation, the mayor said in April, since this plan failed to prevent its proliferation and “the negative impact that its expansion causes on tourism and the coexistence of neighbors.” What has changed since then and what is the current situation in the city of Madrid? Standard Related News If Madrid will ban tourist accommodations scattered in residential buildings in the center Helena Cortés The mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, made some progress in plenary key points of the new ordinance that will regulate these accommodations in the cityTemporary suspension of new licenses They are currently temporarily suspended, until the municipal council approves the modification of the general plan, the granting of new housing licenses for tourist use (VUT) in two types of uses: for residential use, authorizations of dispersed VUTs and authorizations for the transformation of premises into housing in the commercial axes of the Centro district – which has 158 housing units of this type, or 15,67 – are suspended per percent of the total – and in buildings other than the residential zone located on the ground floor. Sanctions of up to 190,000 euros. The municipality does not have specific regulations to sanction tourist apartments, and fines were previously subject to an administrative procedure. First, the activity was ordered to cease, and if the owner did not comply with the municipal decree and continued to operate illegally, fines of 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 euros were imposed. From now on, the municipality is covered by the land law of the Community of Madrid, which qualifies as a serious offense the implementation of a use incompatible with urban planning. First, the owner is informed to cease activity immediately. In the event of non-compliance, a firm penalty of 30,001 euros. If the irregular activity continues, you will be sentenced to a second fine of 60,001 euros. And if this persists, he will be fined 100,001 euros. These fines are cumulative, the offender can therefore be exposed to an amount of 190,003 euros. Neighbors can prohibit tourist rentals. On October 6, the Supreme Court issued two judgments in which it declared that communities of owners can prohibit this activity, before an individual or an individual. The company can install a tourist apartment in a building, subject to agreements adopted at a meeting by a three-fifths majority. UTVs scattered throughout the historic center are prohibited. The councilor announced this morning that homes for tourist use scattered in the communities of owners in the historic center will be prohibited (in the APP 0.01 zone). In addition, they will allow the transformation of public buildings for private use into residential buildings provided that they are intended for affordable housing or “colivings”. In addition, they will allow the increase in constructability on plots for use other than residential to transform them into homes and “they will prohibit the transformation of commercial buildings into homes for tourist use to preserve the identity of neighborhoods and preserve small and average trade,” he explained.

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