Cantabria – Tourist Rent

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

In Cantabria, the transfer of housing for tourist purposes is regulated in the modality of temporary transfer of homes for tourist use, either temporarily or shared.

Accommodation modalities and requirements

Concept

These accommodations are considered a tourist service and, in addition to complying with current legislation on this matter, they must comply with the following characteristics and requirements:

  • Homes for tourist use are located in properties located on land for residential use.
  • Temporary assignment and for tourist purposes is presumed whenever the dwellings are offered in a tourist offer channel of any kind or by any other means of marketing or promotion. For these purposes, the following are considered:
    • That there is a temporary assignment when the occupation does not imply a change of residence of the user; and
    • That tourism supply channels are both physical and virtual tourism intermediation companies – travel agencies, reservation centres, promotion websites, rentals or marketplaces.

Types

Full transfer, not allowing assignment for stays; or

Shared assignment, with the owner having to reside in it.

In both cases, they must be marketed in habitable conditions and of immediate availability.

Obligations of the owners

The owners of the dwellings are subject to compliance with the following obligations towards users:

  • Display, outside the access door of the accommodation for tourist use, the identification plaque; and, in a visible place, the informative poster of the availability of the official complaint forms and the telephone number provided to immediately attend to any circumstance that affects the stay.
  • Have official complaint forms from the Directorate-General responsible for tourism. These sheets must be available to users in a suitable place within the dwelling for tourist use.
  • Inform the interested public of the rules of use, as well as the season of operation of the dwelling for tourist use, with express mention of the opening and closing dates and the forms of payment accepted.
  • Issue and deliver to users proof of payment for the accommodation.
  • Keep the website updated, if the property has one, answering requests for information that come through this communication tool.
  • Display the registration number of the General Registry of Tourism Companies of Cantabria, after its communication to the interested party, in all advertising of the tourist activity.
  • Provide the accommodation service with the necessary furniture and equipment for immediate use.
  • Offer the house in perfect conditions of cleanliness, hygiene and preparation at the time of being occupied by the users, and a general cleaning of the house and change of linen must be carried out whenever a new stay occurs. Any damage and breakdowns that occur during the stay will be repaired immediately.
  • Display the prices of the services offered in a clearly visible and easy-to-read place for the public, with due detail of the final price that will be applicable to the user, stating separately and with sufficient clarity each of the services and concepts in such a way as to enable the user to make a decision before contracting a tourist service.

Procedure for starting activity

For the start of the activity, the mandatory declaration of responsibility for opening must be submitted to the Directorate-General responsible for tourism beforehand, affirming, under its responsibility, that it meets the requirements established to carry out the activity; that it has the documentation that accredits it; and that it undertakes to maintain compliance until the cessation of the exercise of said activity.

In any case, this declaration of responsibility will expressly refer to compliance with the following requirements:

  • Have one fire extinguisher per floor, installed in a visible place and easily accessible.
  • Have sufficient legal title accrediting the ownership of the property.
  • Have a certificate of occupancy.
  • In the case of dwellings located in properties subject to the horizontal property regime, a declaration that the statutes or agreements adopted by the community of owners do not prohibit or establish restrictions on the use of the property for the purpose of the dwelling for tourist use.
  • Declaration that the home is not classified as protected.

This declaration, made in these terms, authorises the exercise of the tourist activity from the same day of its presentation, and the property is also registered in the General Register of Tourist Companies of Cantabria, for the purposes of control and inspection a posteriori.