Anyone living in a Zone “stressed” by tourism in Barcelona (yes, we know that there are fewer and fewer who are not) has felt that suspicion: that apartment that has been suddenly renovated, where tourists keep coming in and out with their rattling suitcases? is it legal?
And unfortunately it is no surprise that in Barcelona, with a real estate market with skyrocketing prices and unstoppable tourism, the two vectors intersect to end up leaving in the city an offer full of tourist apartments without license, which fill homes that could be for neighbors with tourists, thereby raising the price of housing throughout the city, and further hindering access to housing.
Until now, it was difficult to know if an apartment of these characteristics had a license or not, but the City Council has launched a website that allows you to find out if your property is hiding an illegal tourist apartment.
An apartment finder…. to ind tourist apartments
The system is very simple. If you have doubts about the legality of the tourist accommodation of a farm, you only have to visit the web site of Tourist accommodations where a simple search engine allows you to enter the address and find out immediately if there is a legally registered tourist apartment in that building or if the same tourist is staying in one of them.
If this is not the case, the same website allows you to report the suspicion of illegal tourist accommodation. On the same website, it is recalled that staying in an unlicensed apartment “harms both those who rent them, because it makes them lose all rights of complaint regarding any incident and deprives them of mandatory services, and the city, because it generates speculation and underground economy”.
The website also offers information on how to report an illegal tourist apartment, the signs that make you suspect the existence of one or information on the consequences that may have the complainant.