TOURISTIC NUMBER: ACCOMODATION FOR HOLIDAY PURPOSES

The touristic market has recently evolved in new ways of traveling. Nowadays, many tourists prefer to have a more direct relationship with the residents of their vacation destination; there are many others who looks for a complete independence, which hotels and apartment buildings cannot offer. The creation of new ways of booking an accommodation, mainly promoted through internet portals, has managed to expand this variety in the offer.

These new digital channels have also managed to reduce intermediaries in the process, resulting it much cheaper, but without losing the guarantees of quality and security that the more traditional types of holiday rental have.

This new reality requires the adaptation of a law custom made, which protects both landlord and tenant, and sets some minimum requirements of infrastructure and quality in the service. In addition, it is necessary to maintain a regulation of the activity in order to prevent intrusiveness, underground rental and unfair competition, and thus prevent this from affecting the quality of the rental offer.

The main characteristics that the activity must comply to be defined as accommodation for holiday purposes, and which differentiate it from a tourist apartment or rural accommodation, are:

• This is not the main activity of the owner.

• The property, or the rooms to rent, will not be rented for more than 2 uninterrupted months by the same guest.

• The landlord does not own more than two rental properties in the same building.

• The propertyis located on urban land, and not rustic areas.

To registera property for holiday purposes or, what is the same, to get the touristic number to be able to legally rent it, these two fundamental stages must be completed: signing a statement of responsibility at the Ministry of Tourism, and keeping a record of guests at the National Police or Guardia Civil.

HOW TO SIGN THE RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

This document must be signed by the property owner, or person who is going to carry out the activity on his behalf, and it states that the property fulfils all the requisites to be considered suitable for holiday rental.

The most important requirements to take into account are:

• The property counts with occupation license, is sufficiently furnished and provided with all the necessary devices and appliances, according to the number of guests.

• The maximum capacity of occupants cannot exceed of fifteen, for a whole property, or six places, if the rental is by rooms. In both cases, each room cannot accommodate more than four people.

• The bedrooms will have direct ventilation from the outside or from a patio.

• The house will be cleaned before check-in and on check-out of each new client.

• Accommodation shall provide two sets of bed and bathroom linen (one for use, plus a spare one) and household items in general, depending on the number of guests.

• A first aid kit will be placed in a conspicuous place.

• It will be provided some tourist information of the area, as well as restaurants, shops and leisure areas, either in physical or digital format.

• Complaints and Claims Sheet, and a sign announcing its availability will be on site in a visible place.

• Guests will be informed of the rules for a correct use of the facilities, common areas, and if pets are allowed in the house.

• A telephone number will be provided to answer and resolve any questions or incidents related to housing.

Once the statement of responsibility has been signed, the Ministry of Tourism will provide the touristic registration number, which is the one that identifies the accommodation in the rental census for holidays purposes.

REGISTRATION OF THE HOUSE BEFORE THE LEGAL AUTHORITIES

The next step is to register the place at National Police or Guardia Civil. To do that, the following documentation must be provided:

• Copy of the ID or NIE of the property’s owner

• Copy of the last IBI receipt

• Copy of the responsibility statement, where the touristic number appears

This registration in one of these two national security forces is required in order to keep a registry book where all the guests, over 14 years of age, are identified. This information must be provided no later than 24 hours after the occupants’ arrival, in person at the Police or Guardia Civil premises, or online, through one of their platforms: Webpol (National Police) or Hospederías (Guardia Civil).

In addition to this, it will be necessary to keep a record with the data of all guests and a copy of their identification documents, and keep it for a period of three years. Failure to comply with any of these measures may result in the owner being fined.

Holiday rental can be a profitable activity, although it requires great dedication and care in its process. In the following links of official institutions, you can find more detailed information in Spanish about it:

https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/export/drupaljda/Texto_consolidado_282016.pdf

http://www.interior.gob.es/web/servicios-al-ciudadano/seguridad/libro-registro-de-viajeros/partes-de-entrada-y-libro-registro