Residents have a number of tools available to denounce unregulated tourist offer. Thus, they can warn the authorities of illegal apartment rentals through different tools such as the Agency for Tourism Strategy of the Balearic Islands (AETIB), the Green Line established by the municipalities, the Department of Tourism of the Consell Insular de Ibiza and the local police. However, in the communities there is a fear of denouncing their own neighbors because of the high fines for this type of irregularities, which can end up with the seizure of the property. This has been warned by the lawyer María José Quirante, from the Association of Property Administrators, who manages some 35 communities. During the colloquium following the round table of the X Congress of Tourist Housing of Ibiza held this Tuesday, Quirante said that many communities decide not to denounce “because of the high amount of sanctions to the owners.”“We are not denouncing, there are no agreements in the owners’ meetings because of the high amount of sanctions. And if it happens to me that I have 35 communities, it must happen to everyone, we know and we are aware,” he told La Voz de Ibiza after his speech.
Alternative: amnesty
A viable alternative is the one proposed by the CEO of Sirenis Hotels, Pedro Matutes Barcelówho, during the round table, proposed implementing a kind of amnesty for offenders in order to curb the “growing social discontent” that feeds the ‘tourismphobia‘. It is a kind of pardon
for owners caught renting out their homes irregularly for tourism purposes. And, therefore, severely sanctioned.
Matutes Barceló proposed that, in the event of a first sanction for an intrusive act, owners may have the alternative of returning to legality and offering the property on the long-term residential rental market, regulated by the Urban Leasing Law (LAU). (LAU). With that, the owners would avoid the heavy fines established by the Consell de Ibiza or, at least, have significant reductions in penalties, as they would be providing a social benefit in the midst of the housing crisis on the island. A similar measure is being analyzed by Menorca in the Social Housing Plan 2024-2028,
How to report an illegal tourist rental in Ibiza
Through the website of the Consell de Ibiza, it is detailed that the Law 8/2012 of Tourism of the Balearic Islands does not allow tourist rentals to be carried out in multi-family residential buildings. Penalties can amount up to 400,000 euros. Therefore, it reports that “if you have annoyance from a neighbor or want to report any illegal tourist rental, you can do it through the following form” Meanwhile, it clarifies that “if you make the complaint anonymously and we need to collect some additional data, we will not have how to contact you. That is why it is recommended to put some contact information“.
