Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S Constitutional Court has rejected moves to scrap a proposed new law restricting tourist apartment licenses in Catalunya.
The measure is now set to be approved by the regional parliament this month.
50 deputies from the Conservative Partido Popular(PP) launched a legal challenge to the legislation last month.
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The PP alleged that it will be an invasion of state powers and that it violates equality and legal certainty.
The court ruled that the 2023 decree passed by the Catalan government ‘does not violate’ constitutional protections for private property, local autonomy, or judicial rights.
The proposed law aims to reduce the number of tourist apartments in areas with housing shortages.
The court said that ‘the possibility of using a property for tourism is not an essential part of property ownership’.
The law- once passed- would limit the number of tourist rental licenses to 10 per 100 residents and requires a permit for any property used for tourism.
It applies to municipalities facing housing difficulties or where there is a high concentration of tourist rentals.
These 262 municipalities must update their lists as the measure would remove perpetual permits and demands a renewal every five years.
The court explained that the law is needed to protect urban environments and ensure long-term housing availability.
It also clarified that municipalities’ autonomy in urban planning is important and said the law respects local decision-making, ‘guaranteeing local authorities a level of intervention that is strongly linked to their interests over tourist home rentals’.
