Uk Holiday Homes In Spain Affected By Scapegoating Rentals – Interview With Juan Cubo

In a monolithic move to woody pinch Malaga city’s escalating lodging crisis, politician Francisco de la Torre announced a three-year moratorium connected granting caller licences for tourer rental properties, specified arsenic AirBnBs. Additionally, much than 10,000 existing licences are said to person been retired from spot owners, which will affect, among others, UK vacation homeowners.

The determination followed a arguable BBC study highlighting nan antagonistic effect of alleged “overtourism” successful nan province. The guidelines of nan lodging situation has been firmly put astatine nan feet of nan tourism sector, a assemblage that occupies betwixt 15 and 20 per cent of nan region’s system and which gives jobs to astatine slightest 36 per cent of its population.

Commenting connected societal media, Lucinda de la Cereza says, “That semipermanent rents person doubled successful nan area successful astir 8 years owed to a shortage of semipermanent housing. Those who unrecorded and activity present conscionable can’t spend to do truthful anymore.” Neil Woodward said, “No proprietor will rent semipermanent complete short-term. Too galore are frightened of squatters,” commenting connected nan Spanish ineligible structure.

Tourist rentals rules scapegoat for “political ineptness”

The Euro Weekly News said to Juan Cubo Guerrero, laminitis of Cubo’s Holiday Homes, who is indignant astatine what he calls nan “demonisation” and “political manipulation of nan public”. Responding to an inflammatory practice of alleged “overtourism” by a BBC documentary, he said, “Malaga is not Venice,” expressing nan exaggeration of nan documentary’s claims. Following said TV programme, Francisco de la Torre, politician of Malaga, announced nan withdrawal of thousands of licences for vacation rentals successful nan city. But Cubo says that nan tourism assemblage is being scapegoated to hide decades of governmental ineptness successful not granting capable licences for nan building of affordable homes to support up pinch a increasing population.

Hailing from nan colony of Alhaurín el Grande successful nan Sierra de Mijas, Juan Cubo formed his business renting retired quiet properties to visitors connected a impermanent ground 20 years ago. “My begetter asked if I was crazy. “Who’s going to want to travel connected vacation here?” he asked. So acold successful 2025, location person been 12,000 overseas visitors travel to Alhaurín, whereas earlier that was unthinkable. The largest demographic has been cardinal European families, not young group connected a booze weekend.”

Tourist rentals person other effect – decentralise tourists

According to Cubo, what nan arena of impermanent rentals has done is nan other of what is claimed. “It has decentralised tourism and fixed families successful areas that ne'er had tourism earlier an system they tin use from. There’s nary overcrowding of tourists. Grazalema successful nan Sierra de Ronda, for example, now has a thriving tourism trade, particularly celebrated pinch Americans. Before, what was there? One hotel? Two, maybe?”

He recalls Malaga metropolis and really it was 20 years ago. “I retrieve it was a scary place, impoverished. It was vulnerable to spell to galore places. Now? We’ve spent decades building our tourism business. It’s nan number 1 driver of nan system successful Malaga. I don’t spot anyone moving successful nan tourism assemblage protesting against overtourism. I was invited to Ibiza recently, wherever galore kick astir nan lodging crisis. The seashore is full, and because of strict legislation, they cannot build immoderate more. Yet, location is plentifulness of room to build inland, but nary plans to do so.”

Squatters down “tourismphobia” protests

On nan taxable of 2024’s organised thoroughfare protests, immoderate of which were blaming overtourism for a deficiency of housing, he says, “The group down those demonstrations were fewer and operated retired of a squat successful Malaga, 1 they person occupied for nan past 20 years, from earlier erstwhile location was nary alleged ‘housing crisis.’ However, nan banners they carried connected nan streets are costly to produce, truthful they person costs from somewhere.”

On nan different hand, Miguel Campos, a homeowner successful nan Salamanca neighbourhood of Madrid, feels nan business is retired of control. “My flat is nan only 1 near successful nan building that is not a impermanent rental.” Until a fewer years ago, Miguel, a commercialized aviator by profession, lived unsocial successful a one-bedroom flat pinch aged group arsenic his neighbours, who had lived successful nan building since agelong earlier him. With nan passing of time, 1 by one, his neighbours, aliases their heirs, sold nan apartments aliases opened them up for tourer rental. “Now, I ne'er cognize who is successful nan building. The beforehand doors are often near ajar astatine night; they time off bags of rubbish successful nan hallway, expecting personification other to prime them up. The assistance door, which must beryllium astir 80 years old, has a sliding exterior gross and won’t activity if it is not unopen correctly. I unrecorded connected nan 5th floor, and I don’t retrieve erstwhile I was past capable to usage nan lift!”

Back successful Malaga, nan precocious completed Torres Martiricos are said to contain, successful nan sentiment of galore homeowners, “too galore tourer rentals”. Complaints person been made of young visitors connected booze weekends, leaving doors open, making sound precocious astatine night, and leaving rubbish successful communal hallways. Juan Cubo says, “But these are issues that group successful blocks of flats often look pinch full-time neighbours. Everything has a solution, particularly pinch nan exertion available. We person really installed noise-level detectors successful our rentals. And if nan level goes supra a definite magnitude of decibels, nan impermanent receives a telephone immediately. And nan mostly are not retired for a party. Many of our guests are families pinch young children. They request an other chamber and a kitchen, thing uncommon successful hotels.”

On nan Costa del Sol, successful 2025, nan edifice occupancy rate hovered supra nan 80 per cent mark, down from supra 90 per cent successful 2024. A cursory look astatine nan streets of nan aged municipality successful Malaga, isolated from during nan city’s Feria, reveals nary denotation of overtourism astatine all. Joe D, a caller presence connected nan Costa del Sol, says, “I went to Calle Larios conscionable aft nan Feria. There was nary 1 there. All nan shops and bars were open. I was expecting a spot of life, but it was dead.”

How UK and different overseas vacation location owners will beryllium affected by tourer rental rules

UK second-home owners successful Spain are peculiarly affected by nan restrictions connected short-term rentals, arsenic good arsenic Spanish families. Since Brexit, galore who ain a spot successful nan sun cannot stay successful nan state for much than 3 months astatine a time; nan solution is arsenic it has ever been – to rent retired their apartments to holidaymakers. Under caller rules for short-term leases, galore will person to springiness up their vacation homes. In Marbella, successful bid to rent retired a level temporarily, nan support of nan neighbour’s relation is now needed. However, arsenic is invariably nan case, astir of nan neighbours cannot be nan relation meetings to opportunity ‘yes’ aliases ‘no’, arsenic their superior residence is elsewhere, and often abroad.

What is undeniable is nan deficiency of building successful nan Malaga Province of affordable homes. In 2025, aggregate projects person popped up to build VPOs, aliases protected value housing, but these will return years to complete. Until then, should we really beryllium demonising nan manufacture that drives some nan coastal and agrarian economies and that is responsible for unprecedented employment growth?