Many Britons in recent years who have retired have headed to Spain for a new life as well as those who are investing in a home to rent out to generate some extra income. However the Spanish government have planned to come down hard on unlicensed holiday lets which means those migrating to Spain or hoping to rent out a property there may be completely put off, advisors have warned.
For years many regions including the Balearics, Catalonia and Canaries have asked for licences for holiday lets which has seen 30,000 euro’s worth of fines for expats in these areas. This is because they have been letting their property without the proper permits according to the British Embassy.
The Overseas Guides Company has seen a huge surge in interest in property in Spain between January and March. The requests for more information on Spanish property have actually doubled from 2012 to this year. If you are looking into buying a property abroad you need to make sure you have the correct type of landlord insurance in place.
Richard Way is from the Overseas Guides Company and he has said, “Spain is at risk of suffocating any much-needed bounce back in its tourist residential market. The new law targets foreign owners in particular, as it highlights that holiday lets will be deemed illegal without the correct license and approval by the local authority when advertised online, which is a popular way for non-Spanish residents to market rental homes.”
He carried on to say, “The change is devolution of the law governing holiday lets from Spain’s national to its regional governments, so fees and conditions will vary by region Some regions notably the Balearics and Canaries, have had their own rules for holiday lets in place for years now; now all regions will need to control this market. The change will apply to anyone, foreign resident or non-resident or Spaniard, letting a property on a short term holiday let.”
Chris Mercer who is the director of Mercers has said, “I think that the main aim of the Spanish government is to raise tax revenue. I don’t think they are trying to stop people from renting their property, but instead trying to get an idea of the numbers involved. There is of course a possible positive to this. If they are going to tax the owner then one would presume that any reasonable costs could be claimed or offset against that tax.”