I found this article that was published earlier in the year and deals with something that I wasn’t aware of regarding the holiday buy-to-let market in Spain.
“Already reeling from news that their properties’ values are under threat, British homeowners in Spain are facing a double whammy that could plunge thousands into huge debt.
A fresh crackdown by Spanish tourism and tax authorities over unlicensed apartments and villas that are let to holidaymakers threatens to trap countless Britons, anxious to maximise their investment in homes on the Costas and the Balearic Islands.”
Many expats, struggling with the rising euro interest rates, along with other landlords who just saw the investment opportunity, have looked to help pay their mortgages with holiday lets.
However, in addition to tax liability, and possible action from both the Spanish and UK tax authorities for failure to declare rental income, there appears to be another potential problem:
Flats and villas in Spain cannot be offered for holiday rental unless they are licensed with the appropriate tourism authorities, and even if official permission is sought it is rarely granted.
“There are strict conditions before properties are approved for rental to holidaymakers,” says a spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry for Tourism. “Nearly all are not licensed, which means letting them to tourists is illegal.”
A number of cases are featured in the article where British investors have been fined up to £20,000 pounds for falling foul of Spanish law. All very sobering and worth looking into if you are considering buying a holiday home for let in Spain.
To read more click below:
