Brussels alerts the Andalusian Government that it’s unlawful to duplicate the registration of vacationer residences by making a regional one | Economy | EUROtoday

The Andalusian Government’s plans to create a registry for short-term leases run the intense threat of going towards a few EU guidelines, the European Commission warns. Given the sustainable tourism regulation that’s being processed within the Andalusian Parliament, the evaluation carried out by the Union’s Internal Market division signifies that in Spain there’s already a state registry of the sort of lodging; that this, as well as, hyperlinks the digital platforms, and that “any imposed obligation to register” in each “would be contrary to the European regulation on short-term rentals.”

Sources from the Ministry of Tourism argue that the oldest registry is theirs, alluding to the Andalusian Tourism Registry, which is greater than a decade previous, however the Commission’s report refers solely to the registry for short-term leases, scheduled for mid-2026. informs Eva Saiz. They additionally check with a decision of the TRIS (Technical Regulation Information System) – the European Commission’s data system designed to stop obstacles to commerce within the inside market – wherein it spoke out towards duplicity and signifies that the state registry is what generates the duplicity. The identical interlocutors keep in mind that the Supreme Court is about to rule on the attraction that the Board filed concerning duplicity and invasion of powers and, they keep, that it’ll accomplish that towards the central authorities. “The ministry is the one that has created the duplicity,” they insist

Along with this regulation, there’s one other one which the Commission’s technicians put the emphasis on: the digital companies regulation (DSA, for its acronym in English). This is identical with which the EU imposes bolstered obligations on massive digital platforms reminiscent of X, Facebook, TikTok or Booking. The latter is the one one linked solely to the tourism sector that’s included in that class, which forces it to imagine extra demanding due diligence necessities than the remainder. However, the regulation makes it clear that “Member States should not adopt or maintain additional national requirements” for these platforms.

An vital authorized ingredient to bear in mind is that the EU guidelines regulating digital companies and sure points of vacationer leases are rules and never directives. This is a crucial distinction, since a directive establishes minimal components of homogeneity between Member States, however a rustic can go additional in its transposition. A regulation, then again, is identical for all States and, moreover, doesn’t require transposition and turns into “directly applicable,” they recall in Brussels.

“The Commission considers that there is a risk that certain provisions of the notified project [en referencia al proyecto de ley del Gobierno andaluz] “are interpreted in a way that duplicates or complements the obligations of the established intermediary services,” states the document sent to Spain by the EU Executive.

In that same document, the points are displayed in which the risk of the Andalusian law increasing the obligations of the platforms is observed. One is the requirement that the platforms provide information about the owners of the tourist apartments they host. There is also the obligation to remove accommodations that have not provided the mandatory information to the Andalusian registry.

Another point they stop at is the duplicity of the registry. The Commission’s technicians state that in Spain there is already an authority in charge of enforcing the DSA, the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), when it does not have a European scope and, obviously, not only on short-term tourist accommodation but on any digital content (products, rentals, videos, images or messages, among others). On the other hand, according to Andalusian law, it would be up to the Board to impose sanctions, which would also conflict with the DSA. Hence, the Spanish authorities are “invited to guarantee” that the invoice being processed by the regional parliament is suitable with European rules.

Regarding the European regulation on short-term leases, the Commission factors out that in December 2024 a royal decree was promulgated in Spain “whose objective appears to be” to adapt to European requirements and wherein “a mandatory registration of tourist establishments is provided for at national level.” This, in precept, would exclude the creation of one other, since European regulation “expressly establishes that a tourist accommodation is not subject to more than one registration.” The single registry of short-term leases, which requires acquiring a reference quantity for each vacationer residences and people which are rented seasonally if they’re marketed on digital platforms, got here into drive on January 2, 2025. Spain was thus the primary European nation to implement this neighborhood regulation (there was room till the center of this yr), with the target, in accordance with the Ministry of Housing, of accelerating management over homes which are rented for functions apart from housing and combating the actual property worth disaster.