Tag: Apartur

Barcelona’s Town Hall has Shut Down 2,355 Illegal Tourist Apartments in 2 Years

11 July 2018 – Inmodiario

After launching the emergency plan against illegal tourist apartments (HUT) in July 2016, the Town Hall of Barcelona has closed 2,355 properties and is in the process of shutting down another 1,800.

Moreover, this summer the “Fair Tourism BCN” campaign is being promoted once again to inform and raise awareness amongst citizens and visitors alike about the dangers of this illegal activity for everyone.

In total, 10,635 files have been opened and 5,503 fines have been imposed, five times as many as during the period from 2014 to 2016. The number of termination orders rose from 663 in 2014 to 4,148 in 2016.

By area, the files opened have been located primarily in L’Eixample (3,193) and Ciutat Vella (2,920), followed by Sant Martí (1,220), Sants-Montjuïc (1,042) and Gràcia (939).

In addition to this activity, inspections have been conducted of: 81 entire buildings where it was suspected that illegal tourist activity was being undertaken; 21 student halls, also suspected of tourist activity; and 61 illegal B&Bs, under the umbrella of rooms for rent, which were leasing all of their rooms.

Besides the fining activity, the team comprising more than 100 inspectors and visualisers is continuing to work to ensure that closed down apartments do not reopen, to identify new illegal properties and to hunt down the organised networks that are managing more than one property.

In parallel, work is continuing with holiday rental platforms through a joint roundtable that has been working for some time with Homeaway, Booking, TripAdvisor, Rentalia and Apartur, and which has recently been joined by Airbnb.

Work is currently on-going to allow the Town Hall to have access to data about users who have joined the platforms since 1 June 2018.

Original story: Inmodiario 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cataluña Raises Taxes On Barcelona’s Tourist Flats By 250%

14 November 2016 – Cinco Días

The Generalitat de Cataluña, supported by the parliamentary groups CUP and JxSí, is looking to restructure the region’s tourist tax with a law that will accompany the Budget for 2017. It is seeking to modify and increase the tourist tax charged to travellers using hotels, apartments, campsites and cruise ships in the autonomous community.

The aim of the modifications, presented by the Secretary of Finance for the Regional Government, Luis Salvadó, is to generate additional revenues for the Generalitat, amounting to more than €180 million (…). The Government intends to approve the law between the end of this month and the beginning of December, so that the tax changes can come into force from April (2017).

In the case of the tourist tax, the highest increase will affect rental apartments in the city of Barcelona, where the tax will rise by 246%, from €0.65 per night to €2.25 per night. The new fee is equivalent to the rate charged to guests of five star hotels, whose amount will not vary. Meanwhile, clients using tourist apartments in the rest of Cataluña will have to pay €0.90 per day, compared with the current rate of €0.45.

The Association of Tourist Apartments in Barcelona (Apartur) and the Catalan Federation of Tourist Apartments has questioned the legality of this measure, describing it as “discriminatory and meaningless”, given that it charges the same amounts to users of tourist apartments in Barcelona as it does to clients of luxury hotels. The groups have stated that the decision is “disproportionate, unjustified and completely arbitrary” and they expressed their concern that it will only serve to encourage the supply of illegal apartments.

The Chairman of Apartur, Enrique Alcántar, stated that the planned increase in the tax rate for tourist apartments in Barcelona is “complete madness”. According to his calculations, the charge is equivalent to 10% of the total daily price of a stay in a tourist apartment, compared to just 1% of the cost of a stay in a five star hotel.

Through this revision to the regulations, the Generalitat is also seeking to introduce the role of a collection assistant. It wants to turn the technological platforms, such as Airbnb, Homeaway and Booking, which act as intermediaries between owners and travellers, into tax collectors. In addition, it has announced a framework of specific offences and sanctions.

New tax on short-stay cruise passengers

Another new measure is planned, which will affect cruise passengers. Until now, cruise passengers who spent less than 12 hours in Barcelona have not had to pay any kind of tourist tax, but from now on, they will have to pay €0.65. The rate for those spending more than 12 hours in the city remains the same, at €2.25. (…)

Original story: Cinco Días (by L.S.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colau Closes 256 Tourist Apartments In 1 Month

11 August 2016 – Expansión

One month ago, the mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, announced the launch of an emergency plan against unlicensed tourist apartments in operation in the city. Since then, the Town Hall has ordered the closure of 256 flats in total; in 2015, 400 orders were issued during the whole of the year. Nevertheless, for the trade association Apartur, which represents legal suppliers (of tourist accommodation), that figure is insufficient, and so it has called for the municipal government to make more effort.

A month ago, the town hall reinforced the number of agents making on-site inspections or verifying offers advertised on the internet. The sanctioned owners will receive a court order requiring them to cease their activity and they must pay a fine of €30,000. If they reoffend, the amount of the fine will increase.

One of the initiatives that Colau had announced a year ago was that unlicensed homes that joined the program for homes to be used as social housing would not be sanctioned, but for the time being, no property has joined that plan.

The town hall has also continued to process the files that it opened against the platforms Airbnb and Homeaway one year ago for reporting unlicensed flats.

Over the next few weeks, both operators will receive notifications and must pay a fine of €60,000 each. If they reoffend, the sanctions may reach €600,000.

The trade association Apartur celebrated the municipal initiative, but stressed that it is still a long way from eradicating the illegal offer that exists in the city. It also questioned the moratorium underway, which is affecting both the opening of hotels and the granting of new licences for tourist apartments, given that it is making the eradication of this activity more difficult. Its commitment, it said, is to a “responsible”, “sustainable” and civic tourist model.

Web site and letters

The municipal government defended itself against the critics and said that proof that it is giving priority to this issue is the creation of a website that allows neighbours to report illegal tourist apartments. During the course of one month, it has received 375 notifications. It has also started to send 800,000 letters this week, in which it calls on citizens to “collaborate”.

Nevertheless, the discomfort of several neighbourhood organisations against illegal tourist apartments is continuing to grow, and this summer it has extended further beyond the centre to reach neighbourhoods such as Poblenou.

Original story: Expansión (by David Casals)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colau Announces Fines Of Up To €600K For Unlicensed Tourist Flats

29 June 2016 – Expansión

Yesterday, the Town Hall of Barcelona announced that it will impose tougher fines in its attempt to eradicate illegal tourist apartments. The sanctions will amount to €30,000 in the case of individual apartment owners and up to €600,000, in the case of virtual platforms promoting unlicensed apartments against which legal proceedings have already been started. The fines will not affect individuals who rent out a room in their homes, but will apply to those who rent out entire homes and do not have the necessary tourist licences, issued by the Generalitat.

Legal proceedings were launched against Airbnb last year and yesterday, that company issued a strong statement against the municipal regulations, which it described as “disappointing” and “archaic”, given that, in its opinion, “they protect traditional companies and leave no room for individual (entrepreneurs)”.

The main trade association in the sector, Apartur, predicted that the plan “will not work at all”, given that (for it to be successful) it would have to be accompanied by the lifting of the veto that prevents the legalisation of new tourist apartments. Apartur represents 210 companies, which own 7,000 of the 9,600 legal tourist apartments in the city.

The fight against illegal tourist apartments is one of the battle horses that Ada Colau set herself when she was elected mayoress of Barcelona, just over a year ago. The Town Hall said yesterday that in the last year and a half, it has performed 2,505 inspections, of which 2,701 have concluded with the opening of disciplinary proceedings. It also confirmed that it hired more inspectors on Monday.

Last year, Ada Colau opened the first legal proceedings against Airbnb and Homeaway, and following the continuation of the new requirements, nine online portals have stopped advertising unlicensed tourist homes, including Fotocasa, Tripadvisor and Rent4days.

Original story: Expansión (by David Casals)

Translation: Carmel Drake