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The legal troubles of the Canarian Government's Vivienda Vacacional decree

Started by Janet, Wed 5 Apr 2017, 17:23

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Nova

I might apply for a job as a tourism inspector if only so that I could announce it on the community Facebook page  :giggle:
If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know amazing.

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Janet

The Canarian Government has announced that it will appeal the judgment issued last month against the Vivienda Vacacional decree. The court ruled that the decree had to expand the areas in which private letting of residential properties took place to include tourist areas, and for people to be allowed to rent individual rooms. The Government said that its appeal was based on the errors it believes the court made in its legal reasoning in respect of the legislation, and reminded that the regional authority was fully empowered to pass tourism legislation as it considered appropriate for its tourism model and to guarantee the sector's development. Four more court judgments are expected for other similar actions, but the Government is not waiting, and has pre-empted them by announcing that it will appeal.

Janet

And the second judgment from the Canarian Supreme Court, this time in response to the legal challenge brought by Ascav, is the same as the first: the prohibition on private holiday lets of residential apartments in tourist areas will not wash. The regional Government is coming up against two EU principles which, in the Canaries are in conflict, namely that the Autonomous Community has the legal right to pass its own tourism legislation, however restrictive and protectionist, and the absolute requirement for freedom of commercial enterprise and competition. The Government has already confirmed that it will appeal the first ruling last month. No doubt the same will happen with this judgment too. Rulings to further challenges are still awaited. This could take a while.

Janet

A third judgment from the Canarian Supreme Court is again against the Canarian Government's attempt to ban private holiday lets of residential apartments in tourist areas. The judgment ruled that the decree as it is infringes competition possibly in an attempt to give favourable treatment to the hotel sector. The rulings are piling up, and this one will no doubt be appealed along with the first two.

Janet

The Canarian Government gave a glimpse yesterday of the likely form of the redrafted Vivienda Vacacional as Turismo presented the proposed legislation to tourism sector chiefs. The draft sets the baseline that private holiday letting continues to be illegal in tourist (or mixed-tourist) areas, with the caveat "unless island Cabildos and Ayuntamientos establish otherwise through their local and regional laws."  This will leave the final decision on whether to allow private letting of residential properties in touristic or mixed-tourist areas in the hands of councils and Cabildos, with the default option being that it is illegal.

If this becomes the final form of the decree, it is likely to be challenged by pro-letting groups like Ascav which is already calling it a fudge that promotes the status-quo, so "more of the same". If they do continue their challenge, it remains to be seen whether the Courts will consider the Government's devolution of powers to local and regional authorities as a sufficient loosening of the rules which have already been judged to be too restrictive given that it is hard to envisage Cabildo or Ayuntamientos allowing a free-for-all in the teeth of opposition from local tourism businesses.

New Canarian Government tourism minister Isaac Castellano says that the redraft of the decree is now entering its consultation phase with relevant bodies in the tourism sector to get "the best possible consensus" and "to reconcile residents' needs with the development of a sustainable and quality tourism industry".  The underlying principle, he said, was to give the municipal and insular authorities the tools they needed to modulate tourism rental in their areas given that they are the appropriate bodies to regulate the matter, and that this is an issue relating to a decree, not an actual law. Some will certainly consider it an issue relating to passing a hot political potato, rather than redrafting a decree, and there is still time for the proposed draft to be further amended, though presently it is being smiled on by tourism businesses and the hotel associations.