"It is impossible to put an end to illegal tourist offers." This is how emphatic a Mallorca Council inspector, who requests anonymity, is in conversation with ARA Balears. She knows firsthand the work of the 26 inspectors of this island institution, who monitor both regulated and unregulated offers. According to this source's account, it is much easier to detect infractions by licensed owners than to sanction those who operate outside the system. "It's not at all easy to prove there's an illegal offer," she points out: "They're very clever." In this regard, she warns that, although fines have been toughened, her perception is that "very many procedures expire."

In three years of legislature, the PP has only removed one institutional position for the results of its management: the island councilor for Tourism in Mallorca, Marcial Rodríguez. The reason? His inability to curb illegal tourist rentals and the political wear and tear this caused him. The President of the Government, Marga Prohens, entrusted the island councils with the fight against this activity, but in Mallorca the conflict has become chronic. The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has replaced the person responsible –now Guillem Ginard is in charge of the Ministry– and has pressured Airbnb to remove advertisements for unlicensed properties. But Galmés is heading towards the next elections with this stone still in his shoe.

Coalición por Mallorca will propose through El Pi in the next Consell de Mallorca plenary session that 15 years of residency on the island must be proven to obtain tourist places. It is a formula that, as its spokesperson, Roger Gotarredona, has assured, must "curb speculation".

17,000 euros per night. This is the price that four people must pay if they want to sleep this Maundy Thursday at the tourist accommodation Villa Wave, a property in Ibiza of 280 square meters with five bedrooms, four bathrooms and sea views. The reservation is offered on one of the largest tourist accommodation portals, Booking.com, with a cost of 4,300 euros per person for only 24 hours of stay.

The Consell de Mallorca will relaunch the call for applications to allocate tourist rental units after technical issues forced the cancellation of the previous process. The new call for applications will be voted on next Wednesday at the meeting of the governing board of the Consortium of Tourist Accommodation Exchange (CBAT).

Airbnb has removed the listing for the tourist apartment rented by the PSIB (Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands) from its website to highlight the existence of illegal rentals in Palma. The Tourism Department of the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca) reportedly requested the removal of the listing after a press conference held this Monday at the property by the Secretary General of the PSIB in Palma, Iago Negueruela.

The ban on new tourist rental places in Palm It's now a reality, but it hasn't garnered unanimous praise. The measure, approved by all municipal groups except Vox, has provoked a barrage of criticism from the opposition, who consider it belated, timid, and rather unambitious. Essentially, the specific amendment to the 2023 General Plan sets a ceiling of 4,473 Tourist Accommodation Units (ETH) and prevents this number from increasing, with the intention of gradually reducing it as units become permanently vacated. The reality, according to opposition sources, is that the measure only affects 2% of the units.

The Urban Planning Management of Palm Palma City Council has given the green light this Tuesday to a ban on new tourist rental properties of all types throughout the municipality, through the initial approval of a specific amendment to the 2023 General Plan concerning Tourist Accommodation in Dwellings (ETH). The project, drafted by technicians from the Urban Planning Department, aims to modify various urban planning regulations in order to declare the entire municipality a single zone unsuitable for the commercialization of tourist accommodation.

The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) proposed on Wednesday a ban on tourist rentals of single-family homes and, furthermore, the revocation of licenses already granted. The general secretary of the Palma socialists, Iago Negueruela, presented this measure at a press conference prior to the plenary session of the institution, which will take place this Thursday and which, among other issues, will vote on the matter. Vox's language audit in public libraries.

A lemon tree stands guard in the courtyard of Jaume Gelabert's family home. After his parents died, he bought half of it from his brother and renovated it to return to where he was happy, in the Palma neighborhood of Son Espanyolet. Sitting in front of the tree, he recalls how, during his childhood, neighbors would come to pick lemons, the doors were always open, and "everything was shared." Today, something of that neighborhood life survives in a tall staircase that, through the walls, the owners pass around when they need it. "Why buy more if we have one? Why should everyone have everything?" he argues, advocating for a way of life based on human connection. However, the neighborhood's tranquility was shattered when, starting in 2018, Norwegian businessman Erik Oren bought a dozen houses in the area to transform them into tourist rentals with a capacity for more than 150 people. At that point, two models clashed: that of a community that understands housing as a space for living and belonging; and that of tourism-real estate investment, which sees it as an asset to maximize its profits.

The Consell de Mallorca's inspection campaign against illegal tourist accommodation has resulted in the removal of more than 4,400 tourist rental listings that lacked any registration number, eliminating over 20,000 beds from the market. The Island Councillor for Tourism, José Marcial Rodríguez, gave an update on Wednesday regarding the latest inspection campaign against illegal accommodation in Mallorca, which began on May 15th and continued until last week. In his remarks, Rodríguez emphasized the importance of the agreements reached with platforms like Airbnb and Holidu to combat illegal offerings, an activity that, as he stressed, is "unfair" and "very damaging" to the sector. "This is a decisive step, especially since the platforms remain committed to continuing to deactivate any unauthorized or illegal listings," the Island Councillor for Tourism affirmed. According to data released this Wednesday, the Inspection and Sanction Service concluded the summer campaign with a total of 3,043 actions, 19.1% more than last year, when the campaign lasted one month less than this year's. The actions carried out by the 27 inspectors of the service focused on illegal tourism offerings. Specifically, 1,659 targeted illegal offerings, and the remaining 1,384 targeted legal ones. The total number of actions is triple that of the 2023 campaign, when this plan was launched, while this latest campaign was similar to that of 2024, Rodríguez indicated, who also highlighted the improvements in managing the inspection process and reducing response times. Regarding the ongoing investigations into illegal tourist rentals, the Minister of Tourism also commented that the Holidu platform, with which the Consell (Island Council) reached a collaboration agreement, now only advertises legal properties on its website. "Collaboration, rather than confrontation, is the way to guarantee compliance with regulations and strengthen the quality of life for residents," he emphasized. During the campaign, the inspection service issued 144 violation reports against illegal listings and 138 reports against legal listings. He specified that 9.2% of inspector visits resulted in a report. The inspection team also focused its efforts on ensuring compliance with the law in establishments. Rodríguez commented that of the 102 establishments that have been asked to provide the necessary accreditation, 20% of the documentation has already been reviewed, and the compliance rate is 100%. Another line of action for this service, he said, concerns adjustable beds, with a campaign involving 100 establishments, 77 of which have already submitted the required documentation for review. In this regard, he reminded hotels that they have until 2028 to demonstrate compliance with the regulations. "The implemented plan is working."

"The implemented plan works. It is the right one despite the many voices that criticized it, and it allows us to fight against illegal offerings," argued the head of Tourism, who highlighted the 180 cases opened throughout the year and the 221 resolved. Regarding the total proposed amount for the open cases, this has been 10.05 million euros, more than double the amount proposed in 2024. "It complies with regulations and the law," he asserted.

]]>

He May 29, 2024 And on October 14th of this year. These are the two times that the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has announced he would prohibit new tourist rental properties in the city, whether apartments or villas – the City Council will not touch those that already have licenses. A year and a half after the first announcement, the City Council has still not begun the process to implement this measure, a process that will not be brief because it involves modifying the General Plan. Thus, it is impossible to know how the prohibition will be applied, if indeed it is implemented before the 2027 municipal elections. Sources at the City Council indicate that "work is underway on modifying the General Plan" and that it is likely that "it will go to the December plenary session of the City Council." "We are working with this plan." So far, the only effective measure Martínez has taken regarding tourist rentals in the past year and a half has been to hold two press conferences, in the second of which he failed to mention that it was a repeated announcement.

]]> "I had a little house by the sea, I had a flowery garden and a peaceful sky, I had a boat and some nets on the beach and a sweet dawn when I woke up...", thus begins the The Ballad of LucasThe habanera that Joana Pons popularized in Menorca to such an extent that the song is now part of the collective imagination of Menorca, and also of those of us Mallorcans who are occasionally tempted to make a trip to the neighboring island.

]]>

The Association of Tourist Accommodations of the Balearic Islands (Habtur) has strongly criticized the intention of the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, to Ban all new tourist rental housing in Palma"We don't fully understand the reason for this announcement. It's a disgrace," said Maria Gibert, manager of the tourist rental association, emphasizing that, to move forward with this initiative, "we must modify Palma's General Plan, which isn't exactly easy." "Palma has more important problems that can't be resolved with this type of announcement," she added.

]]>

Palma will ban all new tourist rental properties of all types, the mayor of Ciutat de Palma, Jaime Martínez, announced this Tuesday. Thus, "any offer that is not currently authorized and legalized will be prohibited, and no new tourist rental properties will be able to be registered," he emphasized. However, he clarified that the 639 tourist rental properties in Palma will continue to exist, but stressed that "if they are deregistered, they cannot be registered again."

]]>

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda has detected 2,373 illegal tourist apartments in the Balearic Islands and has demanded that digital platforms remove the online advertisements for these accommodations. These are apartments that have applied for the mandatory registration number since last July, but have not obtained it because they do not meet the legal requirements, according to a press release from the Ministry headed by Isabel Rodríguez.

]]>

The municipalities of the Serra de Tramuntana, including Búger—which is located within the area of influence—are those with the highest supply of illegal tourist accommodation relative to their population. The small town, located at the foot of the Serra and with only 1,200 inhabitants, has 81 homes operating without a license, according to detailed data from the study on illegal accommodation prepared on behalf of the Consell de Mallorca.

]]>

The Balearic Islands Tourist Housing Association, Habtur, this Friday questioned the data released by the Consell de Mallorca regarding the illegal listing of tourist housing in Mallorca, which is estimated to reach 40% on the platforms.

]]>

A total of 1,570 tourist accommodation spaces, including those for vacation rentals, hotel establishments, and hotels in listed buildings, will go on sale starting in September in Mallorca. All are part of the two temporary pools created by the Consell de Consell de Alojamientos Turísticos (CBAT), under the authority of the Consell de Mallorca (Mallorca Council), following the Government's approval of the tourism containment decree. Both pools, according to Europa Press, are filled with vacancies that have been closed since the regulations were approved, either ex officio or voluntarily. The Consell de Mallorca intends to hold three public calls for applications, the first in September and the other two in January and May, with a price per space of approximately €3,500.

]]>