Many destinations across Spain have been cracking down on tourist apartments over the last few months given their impact on rents and property prices for locals, as part of a broader problem developing in the country as a result of mass tourism and gentrification.
Dénia, capital of the Marina Alta area of Spain’s eastern Alicante province, will be the latest in a long line to introduce restrictions to try and curb a growing number of Airbnbs and other holiday lets.
The local council have announced that in the next plenary session they will impose a moratorium on the granting of new tourist licences, which are necessary to legally rent out properties to tourists in many areas across the country.
The suspension will be in force for one year, as is what happened in May in Valencia, but will be extendable, so it could be for much longer.
The ban will only affect the urban area of Dénia itself and not other parts of the municipality such as Les Marines, Les Rotes or Montgó.
The decision to suspend licences was based on a study by the University of Alicante which evaluated a series of proposals to cut down on the number of holiday lets.
In the end, local authorities have decided to follow in the footsteps of several other Spanish cities including Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, which have also put a stop to new licences.
Dénia council will also look into other measures proposed by the study which are aimed at developing a tourism model for the future.
READ ALSO: Which cities in Spain have new restrictions on tourist rentals?
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Dénia currently has about 45,000 properties, around half of which are second homes which are rented out and/or used as holiday homes by the owners.
Out of these, there are 5,000 legal tourist rental homes, which means that many of them are either rented out illegally or are only being used by owners.
According to 2023 town hall figures there are 10,500 foreigners registered out of 43,900 people in total living in Dénia, meaning that many of these properties are more than likely owned by foreigners.
Dénia mayor Maria Josep Ripoll said: “the density of this type of accommodation is beginning to be worrying”.
She also warned that “uncontrolled growth” was causing “coexistence conflicts” with the neighbours in buildings or complexes where the houses and flats are located.
READ ALSO: Spain considers banning tourist lets in residential buildings
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The council will also vote on the suspension of licences for commercial ground-floor buildings to be turned into tourist accommodation.
The regional Generalitat Government of Valencia has approved a new decree allowing this to happen, but according to Ripoll “it is a big mistake and attacks local commerce”.
Despite all the recent tourism protests in Spain, more and more tourist apartments keep on popping up.
READ ALSO: Who owns all the Airbnb-style lets in Spain?
In nearby Calpe, the City Council have received 985 applications for tourist housing licences during the first eight months of the year.
This figure already exceeds the total for 2023, which was 932.
In 2017, only 441 were requested and since then, there has been exponential growth, except in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Cape authorities are also trying to find a solution.
OPINION: Spaniards should blame landlords, not tourists
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