The Spanish government is planning on clamping down on unlicensed holiday lets, many of which are investment properties for expats living in mainland Spain. According to an article in the Telegraph, the move could put expats off investing in Spanish property as a source of income by renting it out when they return back to their home country.
Currently only a handful of regions (including the Balearics, Catalonia and the Canary Islands) demand a licence for holiday lets and there are even cases of expats being fined €30,000 for letting properties without the correct permits.
According to an article in the Telegraph, it is considered that the new rules and regulations are being heavily backed by hotel owners and hotel companies who are trying to discourage tourists from staying in private accommodation, especially in the more tourist-based destinations where it is common place for hotel owners to hold positions in the local town halls.
This news comes little over 2 months after we posted an article stating that many British expats were considering moving away from Spain because of changes in tax laws that force foreign nationals moving to Spain to declare all overseas assets worth more than £44,000 or face fines in excess of the value of the asset.
All this having been said, English language Spanish newspaper, The Local has recently reported that “There are still a number of industries where skilled foreign employees are very much in demand” including Engineering, Customer services, IT, Finance and Online Marketing, meaning that there are still plenty of reasons for expats to consider moving to Spain. If you are interested in finding out more information on our Moving to Spain services, click here.