2 May, 2024 @ 11:51
1 min read

Community president in Marbella bans Airbnbs ‘without any warning or permission’ – sparking a legal battle with owners and real estate agency

A REAL estate agency in Marbella is suing a homeowners association after it banned tourist rentals from its buildings ‘without holding a vote’ or meeting. 

Property firm Homewatch claims the Vicario Tercera Fase Homeowners Association, in Ojen, unilaterally outlawed Airbnb-style lets without any warning at a General Meeting on December 15 last year.

The estate agency has now taken the matter to the courts and is demanding the ban be declared null and void, given it was allegedly made by the president of the community unilaterally. 

According to the plaintiffs, the prohibition on using the apartments for tourist purposes was arbitrarily imposed without prior notice, based on a biased interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling and in contravention of the community’s statutes.

READ MORE: Now is a good time to buy property in Spain, say experts

The team at Homewatch real estate

The minutes of the December meeting and the decision have been challenged by the affected, who claim they were not allowed to vote on the matter. 

The plaintiffs point out that since purchasing their property in 2016, they have been engaging in rural tourist rentals without issues. 

Lawyer D. Antonio Jurado Jiménez, representing the plaintiffs, has argued that the agreement reached at the meeting is null and void by law and contrary to article 15 of the Community Statutes. 

According to Jurado Jimenez, the statutes do not specifically prohibit the use of homes for tourist rental, but only exclusive uses such as office, commerce, or industry.

CEO and co-founder of Homewatch, Vivienne Thoennessen, said the community made ‘a very subjective interpretation’ of the statutes unilaterally.

“This rule is being imposed, applying jurisprudence with many aspects that have nothing to do with the case we are dealing with,” she said.

Ojen, Marbella

“After several years of renting without any problems, being registered and with full knowledge of the entire community, you cannot suddenly say that it is prohibited according to the statutes without a vote in favour of three-fifths of the owners,” Thoennessen added, noting that they are “reinterpreting” the nature of the internal regulations after the fact.

She admitted that it is ‘totally understandable’ that commercial activity is prohibited in the communities because ‘it means that dozens of unidentified people have daily access to the communal areas.’

However, Thoennessen pointed out, this restriction does not apply in this case, explaining: “We have the passports of the people who stay, and there is a law behind it to provide total security…

“It makes no sense that vacation accommodations are prohibited in a community just because clothing stores are already banned. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Story

UNGLAUBLICHE 100-JÄHRIGE SPANIER GEHT IMMER NOCH JEDEN TAG INS FITNESSSTUDIO: DAS SIND JOSE’S TIPPS FÜR EIN LANGES LEBEN

Next Story

ANTITOURISMUS”-BEWEGUNG IN SPANIEN BREITET SICH AUF GRANADA AUS: EINHEIMISCHE BEKLAGEN EINE “INVASION” VON BESUCHERN, DIE DIE STADT “UNBEWOHNBAR” MACHEN – WÄHREND IMMER MEHR GRAFFITI AUFTAUCHEN

Latest from Costa del Sol

Go toTop

More From The Olive Press