Valencia closes in on rooms with a view

Authorities in Valencia are proposing a law to restrain holiday rentals around the city. If the regional government votes in favour of the bill, the Spanish city will be empowered to draw up zone by zone regulation in an effort to reign in rental prices.

Residents have complained that mass tourism is pricing them out of the primary addresses in Valencia as landlord keep pushing rates for holiday apartments.

If the city hall plans go through, tourist rentals will be restricted to ground and first floor apartments, effectively abolishing private accommodation offering a room with a view. The new tourism law also proposes that no new rentals will be permitted in the Ciutat Vella, the already-crowded historic part of Valencia.

“With this new legislation, councils can take back control of what properties may be used for, and in Valencia we are going to impose an important barrier to ensure the trend does not grow in future,” said Sandra Gómez, the deputy mayor of Valencia.

The sudden spike in tourism in Spanish cities over the past few years has caused a backlash from locals. Barcelona already has set several measures for services such as Airbnb and HomeAway, while Palma in Mallorca went on to ban private holiday rentals.

Source: The Local, El Pais