In a significant ruling, Spain‘s Supreme Court has decreed that homeowners’ associations across the country now have the power to prohibit holiday rentals in their buildings by achieving a qualified majority vote. This decision marks a departure from the previous requirement of unanimity, simplifying the process which many provincial courts had previously interpreted as necessary.
The Supreme Court’s Plenary of the Civil Chamber issued two pivotal judgments, clarifying the interpretation and application of Article 17.12 of the Horizontal Property Law (LPH), amended by a royal decree in 2019. According to this law, any decision to “limit or condition” the practice of holiday rentals must be supported by the favorable votes of three-fifths of the total property owners, who must also represent three-fifths of the participation quotas.
This resolution addresses longstanding discrepancies among provincial courts regarding whether banning tourist rentals should require a unanimous decision or just a qualified majority. This clarification grants homeowners’ associations across Spain increased flexibility and control over the use of their properties for short-term holiday lets.
Grounded in its existing jurisprudence, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of statutory prohibitions on renting out residential apartments for tourist purposes, affirming that such restrictions align with constitutional norms.
Furthermore, the Court examined the terms “limit or condition” from Article 17.12 LPH, determining that these terms should not be interpreted restrictively. It concluded that “limit” includes outright prohibitions, a conclusion backed by the “teleological criterion”—the law’s intended spirit and purpose, as articulated in the preamble of RDL 7/2019.
This preamble cites the urgent need to address difficulties in accessing rental housing, exacerbated by rent increases driven in part by the burgeoning phenomenon of tourist rentals.
The justices argued that permitting the prohibition with a reinforced majority of three-fifths is a measure that fairly balances the conflicting interests involved. They highlighted that without this double majority requirement, the dissent of a single flat owner where the activity is intended could prevent the adoption of such measures.
This landmark decision represents a shift towards giving communities in Spain more control over managing the impacts of holiday rentals on their properties, aligning legal frameworks with the broader challenges facing the rental market.
