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Wire Weekly: Global short-term rental & hospitality news
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San Sebastián Permanently Bans New Tourist Licences
The unanimous PGOU amendment freezes new VUT and hotel permits on all residential parcels. Existing operators keep their 1,342 licences but can never add more. Here is what the two-zone system means for your portfolio.
Audit every San Sebastián listing and verify it holds a valid pre-2026 VUT licence.
San Sebastián Tourism Tax: VUT Rates & 2027 Start
San Sebastián is the first Basque city to activate a tourism tax. VUT operators face €6.50/person/night, capped at six nights, starting 1 January 2027. Here is what changes and what to do now.
VUT operators in San Sebastián must budget for a €6.50/person/night tourism tax starting 1 January 2027.
Spain Pushes Seville to Turn Tourist Rentals Into Homes
Spain's housing ministry wants VUT owners in central Seville to transfer properties to the city for social rent, using a 70% IRPF reduction, rehabilitation funding, and guaranteed monthly payments as incentives.
Seville VUT owners: a 70% tax cut is proposed if you lease your tourist rental to the city for affordable housing.
CNMC Challenges Seville Tourist-Rental Zoning Rule
Spain's competition authority CNMC is investigating whether Seville's PGOU zoning amendment, which forces VUT owners to declare a change of use from residential to tertiary, violates market unity and proportionality rules.
The CNMC challenge to Seville's VUT zoning could scrap the change-of-use declaration requirement for operators.
Andalusia Delays €600K Tourism Fines to 2027
The Andalusian Sustainable Tourism Law that would have raised STR fines to €600,000 has been postponed to 2027 after parliament dissolved for regional elections. Current sanctions under Decreto 13/2011 and Ley 9/2019 cap fines at €100,000 and remain in effect.
Continue compliance under Decreto 13/2011 and Ley 9/2019; the €600K fine regime will not take effect before 2027.
Seville Plans to Halve Short-Term Rental Cap to 5%
Mayor José Luis Sanz and Vox are finalizing a deal to cut the citywide VUT cap from 10% to 5%. Three neighborhoods already exceed the proposed 5% limit. No effective date yet, but the agreement is expected within weeks.
Map your Seville units against the coming 5% VUT cap: Centro, Triana, and San Bernardo are already over the line.
Gran Canaria PIO Under Appeal: VV Zoning at Risk
The island-wide territorial plan that decides where short-term rentals can legally operate sits in legal limbo. A residents' group has appealed the February 2026 revision, and the court ruling will determine whether VV licences are restricted to tourist zones or allowed in residential areas across Las Palmas.
Verify your property's PIO zoning classification before the appeal resolution locks it.
Las Palmas to Ban New Holiday Lets in Residential Buildings
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will ban new tourist-use dwelling licences in residential buildings and reserve mandatory percentages for residential use. Existing operators are not immediately affected, but the VV pipeline in residential zones is closing.
Audit your Las Palmas VV pipeline: new licences in residential buildings will soon be banned under incoming ordinances.
Las Palmas Rent Cap Zone: Fourth Bid, No Decision Yet
Las Palmas has now filed four requests to be declared a zona tensionada, which would impose rent caps on short-term rentals. The regional government has not yet granted the status.
Prepare for potential city-wide rent caps if Las Palmas is declared a zona tensionada.
Canary Islands STR Law Amended via Licensing Bill
The July 2026 reform rewrites transitional rules for holiday-rental operators. File your actividad clasificada paperwork by 31 July 2027, or cease tourist activity. Municipal zoning is shifting. Here is what changes and what to do now.
Verify your actividad clasificada filing status before the July 31, 2027 deadline and monitor municipal zoning changes.
Canary Islands IGIC Exemption Threshold Raised to €50,000
The IGIC small-operator revenue threshold in the Canary Islands rose from €30,000 to €50,000 on 1 July 2026. Tenerife VV hosts earning under the new cap are now exempt from charging the 7% tax to guests. Census registration and annual filing still apply.
Verify your VV revenue remains under €50,000 and stop charging IGIC to guests if it does.
Canarias Ecotasa Stalled by Government Majority
No ecotasa today, none imminent. The Canarian government majority blocks it. But the debate keeps coming back. Here is what Tenerife operators need to know and watch.
A change of government could revive the Canarian ecotasa, adding a per-guest tax on top of IGIC 7%.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Drafts 2-Zone VV Ordinance
The island capital's draft zoning ordinance splits the city into two regulatory zones. All new vacation-rental registrations remain blocked under Canarian law until the ordinance is adopted. Operators with existing VV in Santa Cruz need to watch which zone their property lands in.
Determine which Santa Cruz zone your property falls into under the draft 2-zone model.
Puerto de la Cruz Readies VV Enforcement Blitz
This Tenerife tourist hub has roughly 2,300 vacation rentals. Only 63 hold full administrative approval under LOSUTV. A municipal ordenanza now being drafted aims to cut that number, backed by fines of €15,000 to €150,000.
Verify your comunicación previa and Cabildo approval status before municipal inspectors arrive.
Tenerife VV Licence Freeze: No New Permits Until 2030
No new holiday-rental licences anywhere on the island until municipalities update their planning instruments, a process with a hard deadline of December 2030. Existing owner-operators can consolidate indefinitely.
File your declaración responsable de uso consolidado before your municipality finalises its inspection plan.
Málaga Residents Sue City Over STR Enforcement Failure
The Centro Antiguo residents association sues Málaga city hall, claiming it lets unlicensed vacation rentals operate despite having the most open sanction files in Andalusia.
Verify your VUT license number is on every Centro Histórico listing before enforcement tightens.
PP and Vox Block Málaga Tourist Tax Proposal
The PP-Vox majority in Málaga's city council defeated the 11th attempt to advance a municipal tourist tax. Andalusia, the last major Spanish tourist region without one, keeps the door shut for now.
PP and Vox blocked Málaga's tourist tax; Andalusia stays the only major Spanish region without one.
Málaga Bans New Tourist Rentals on Residential Land
Málaga's PGOU modification freezes all new tourist accommodation on residential land until at least 2029. Here is what existing VUT operators need to know.
Freeze new-unit acquisition on Málaga residential land: existing licensed VUT is now protected, finite supply.
Valencia: One-Year Window to Revert Tourist Flats to Homes
Registered tourist flats can convert to residential homes within a one-year window, but operators must act before the May 2027 deadline.
Get a cédula de habitabilidad now if your tourist flat qualifies for the reversion window.
Valencia Declares 25 Neighbourhoods Saturated for Tourist Lets
CATAV data maps Valencia's saturated zones for the first time, showing exactly where new VUT registration is now blocked and where 32,423 tourist places remain available.
Check your VUT's CATAV status: 25 neighbourhoods are closed, but 32,423 tourist places remain in peripheral zones.
Valencia Court Annuls Tourist Flat Moratorium in Part
The TSJCV ruling invalidates the change-of-use license freeze, putting 363 frozen applications and 4,697 tourist beds back in play. A new permanent saturation framework is now in force.
Check if your dormant Valencia VUT application can re-activate under the annulled change-of-use suspension.
CATAV: Valencia's Public Tourist Accommodation Census
Every licensed tourist flat in Valencia is now publicly searchable through the CATAV census. If your property's not listed, you're operating illegally and exposed to fines of up to €600,000.
Verify your CATAV listing is live: any property absent from the census is unregistered and exposed to fines.
Valencia Caps Tourist Apartments at 2% Per Neighbourhood
Valencia's PGOU modification has permanently replaced its 2-year moratorium with three cumulative saturation locks. Twenty-five neighbourhoods are already at the 2% cap. If you hold a VUT licence or are waiting on a frozen application, here is what the new rules mean for your operation right now.
Verify your VUT registration is active and check CATAV to confirm your neighbourhood is not in a saturated zone.
Madrid seasonal-rental loophole faces regulation push
Plan RESIDE has not eliminated Madrid's short-term rental supply. It has pushed it into seasonal contracts that face no tourism regulation, and Mas Madrid is now moving to close that gap.
Audit your Madrid seasonal-rental registrations before the loophole closes on 10,000 properties.
Madrid Court Keeps Plan RESIDE VUT Ban in Force
TSJM finds no irreparable harm in operator challenge. Madrid's short-term-rental zoning law stays fully enforceable while the main appeal is heard.
Madrid's high court rejected an attempt to suspend Plan RESIDE, keeping the city's VUT zoning rules fully enforceable.
Madrid Closed 323 Illegal VUTs in 2025
Inspections surged 169% as Plan RESIDE enforcement produced €3.5 million in fines. Thousands of unlicensed operators face growing risk.
Unlicensed Madrid STR operators face escalating enforcement: 1,526 inspections and €3.5M in fines in 2025.
Madrid Court Annuls 7 VUT Fines Over Access Rule
The TSJM has ruled across seven cases that lacking independent access is not grounds for a 30,001-euro fine under Madrid's enforcement regime. Every operator penalised under this classification now has a legal basis to challenge.
Challenge Madrid VUT fines for missing independent access.
Madrid VUT Operators Face April 2029 Adaptation Deadline
New CIVUT inspections, HOA authorisation, and quality standards now mandatory for all short-term rentals in Madrid. Here is what to fix before the clock runs out.
Secure your VUT's CIVUT inspection and HOA authorisation before April 2029, or face licence cancellation.
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Sources swept
- 1RegulationLiverpool
Liverpool Licensing Set to Expand City-Wide in 2027
Check if your Liverpool STR falls inside the proposed city-wide licensing zone.
- 2RegulationLiverpool
Liverpool Local Plan published: STR planning context
Monitor Liverpool Local Plan for HMO and housing-mix policies that may shape future C5 Article 4 control zones.
- 3RegulationManchester
Manchester Council Leader Race: STR Enforcement at Stake
Monitor the 1 September Labour group vote and track each candidate's housing enforcement record.
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