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In order to rent one’s property seasonally to tourists in Barcelona, it is mandatory to meet a set of requirements. Please find just below all the details from our experts in Hermes & Mathew to get tourist apartments.

Some prior knowledge related to this subject, is the fact that Barcelona City Council stopped granting new tourist licenses in Barcelona. Since then, in order to have a property with a license for tourists and get the most out of it, the only way is to purchase a housing featuring a tourist license granted before that suspension. Please find our wide range of tourist aparments for sale, just listed for you in our website.

In our previous article “5 reasons to buy a flat with a tourist license” the advantages of having a property of this kind were perfectly defined. On this occasion, our post will explain in detail the terms and conditions for a property to meet, in order to be active on tourism and be legalized as “housing for tourist use.”

Requirements for tourist apartments

• To hold an habitability certificate. This is one of the basic and essential requirements. It is a fundamental document mandatory for any kind of housing. This administrative certificate verifies that a property meets the basic conditions of health, hygiene and solidity to be inhabited, without prejudice to other duly authorized activities to be performed inside, such as, a touristic purposes.

• To comply with technical and quality conditions. This refers to the properly performed construction done, following the mandatory guidelines (analysis of the land, building project, execution on the plan, quality materials, etc.)

• The property has to be properly equipped and furnished. It is mandatory for a housing intended to be used for tourist purposes, to be ready to move into. Therefore, the property has to be furnished and provide all the necessary tools and appliances for the tenants to cover their basic needs. Cleaning and keeping the housing tidy is also included in this concept.

What else is mandatory?

Once the property meets all the mentioned requirements, the owner’s next step is to report the local City Council about the starting of the economic activity. In order to proceed there is a responsible declaration to be summited including,

• Details of the property owner and the full address where the housing is located

• An occupancy certificate

• A document to prove the property is qualified to comply with the requirements established in the related regulations, and undertakes to comply with them during the term of the activity.

Obligations for tourist apartments

When finally owning a property with a tourist license, it is important to be aware of the obligations entailed which have to be stricly complied.

• A phone number contact should be provided to the City Council, hosts and neighbors of the building, so the owner will be always available in case of emergency or need

• A maintenance service of the property has to be offered

• If it were the case that a host does not respect coexistence basic rules, the owner should ask the tenant to leave

• Information about tenants staying in the apartment should be provided to the General Police Directorate

• On this type of establishment, taxs (IEET) have to be collected. Once the tenant gets the invoice, he is responsible to pay at the end of his staying. Afterwards the amount has to be submitted to the Tax Agency of Catalonia

After this exposition, do consider to purchase a tourist apartment from our portfolio. Our Hermes & Mathew expert team, will help you in all the details related, and anything to be taken into account.

In our next post we will explain how to get a tourist license for a property.