Brits who illegally rent out second homes in Mallorca are being faced with tough fines AND the authorities cutting off their water and electricity!
The harsh measures are the latest moves from the island’s council which is trying to free up more housing and affordable rents for local people as part of the crackdown on so-called “tourist massification”.
Mallorca would therefore follow the lead of Seville which is already putting the measure into practice, to be followed soon by Valencia.
There have been regular protests in Mallorca against tourist rentals which are being blamed for the lack of housing for Spanish residents and escalating rents as owners can get more money from holidaymakers.
It is one of the biggest issues in the ongoing debate over tourist saturation in Spanish holiday hotspots which has seen several protests and street marches. One of the latest was a localised protest about a building in the capital of Palma which housed ten apartments, all of them illegally rented out to tourists.
Mallorca council has confirmed it is considering cutting off supplies, such as electricity and water, to illegal tourist apartments in its fight against the activity.
This measure was first announced by Seville and this week the mayor of Valencia, Maria Jose Catala, joined in. On Monday, the Seville council, also in the hands of the PP, cut off supplies to six illegal holiday homes.
“We have been studying this issue for months, as well as others,” said a Mallorcan tourism official.
However, a problem lies in the fact that in Seville or Valencia the homes have to be registered as a professional activity. In Mallorca, this is not required and they are private homes, which makes it difficult to follow these steps.
A study is already underway to see how the cutting off of services could be achieved.
Meantime, Mallorca council is going ahead with massive fines when illegal lettings are discovered. In August, fines of 960,000 euros were announced for 12 flats in one building and sanctioning proceedings have been opened against two other buildings which together add up to 17 flats without a tourist licence and fines amounting to 1.36 million.
Mallorca is also planning to double the number of inspectors from 20 to 30 and add another 17 workers to carry out tasks of instructing sanctions and those related to tourist regulation.