Barcelona city council has taken the first step towards regulating temporary accommodation in the Catalan capital.
The city's Urban Planning Commission last week initially approved an amendment to its General Metropolitan Plan (PGM) to recognise different uses of properties, which will allow for stricter limits to be placed on short-term rentals.
This is not the same as the crackdown on short-term tourist accommodation such as Airbnb, something the city's mayor has already pledged to eradicate from the city by 2029.
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Short-term or temporary accommodation, usually referred to as alquiler de temporada in Spanish, are temporary lodgings ranging from a month to just under a year. They are considered a middle ground between short-term and long-term rentals and it's how landlords in the city and around Spain avoid having to abide by long-term rental regulations. They are also sometimes referred to as 'seasonal accommodation'.
Short-term contracts and room rentals allow landlords to raise prices every six or nine months and are not subject to price limitations in the Housing Law. Critics of Spain's housing legislation passed in 2023 say the law left too many loopholes for crafty landlords to avoid regulation. The proposed regulation in Barcelona is a step to try and counteract this, if it goes ahead.
The proposal went ahead with the votes of the ruling Socialists (PSC), BComú and ERC, while Junts abstained. The Partido Popular and Vox voted against the plans.
Deputy mayor for Housing in the city, Laia Bonet, stated that the reforms are necessary to put an end to "seasonal rental fraud" in Barcelona, adding that temporary accommodation must be limited and properly accredited.
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Stricter regulation in Barcelona hinges on a modification of the city's PGM to distinguish between the "habitual and permanent use of the property" and its "temporary or second home use."
The amendment allows for plans, as of yet undefined, to be drawn up at a later date to limit or even ban non-residential property use in specific areas of the city. The text states: "The substitution of uses other than the habitual and permanent use of housing may be prohibited, conditioned or subject to restrictions."
Put simply, this proposal is a move to prioritise long-term rental accommodation over short-term stays in Spain's second city.
How exactly this will work remains unclear. Spanish daily El País reports that the process could drag on until next summer.
If eventually enforced, the changes could mean that anyone who wants to temporarily rent a property would have to explain why and provide a valid reason. For example, students or researchers could have to show the research contract or course booking to show it would only last a few months.
These were proposals put forward in similar country-wide draft legislation that was ultimately voted down in the Spanish Congress in September. It would have also meant that if more than six months passed or more than two consecutive contracts issued, it would have automatically become a long-term habitual residence instead.
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