2023-06-04 10:54:57
Tourist-use housing (HUT) registered in the Girona counties represents 43.9% of those registered in the whole of Catalonia. Specifically, they are 42,897 of the total 97,696. Additionally, HUTs in the demarcation have quadrupled over the past decade. And it has gone from 10,136 tourist flats registered in 2013 in the Girona regions, to 42,897 (in data up to April 15 of this 2023). From the General Directorate of Tourism of the Generalitat they warn, however, that this does not necessarily mean that activity has increased, but that “the data only indicate that there are more legalized”. The law that regulates this economic activity in Catalonia was approved in 2012.
The regions of Girona concentrate almost half of the houses for tourist use that have licenses throughout Catalonia. Currently, they represent 43.9% of those registered throughout the country and the trend is not new. In fact, it is a fairly similar percentage to ten years ago. In 2013, the HUT located in this demarcation represented 42% of the total of those distributed throughout the territory. In absolute numbers, there were then 10,136 HUT licenses out of a total of 24,123.
The Deputy Director General of Planning and Tourist Inspection of the Generalitat, Anna Martínez, attributes this concentration to the fact that Girona accumulates many “tourist hubs” where the demand for accommodation makes this model rise to the occasion, as is the case of the Pyrenees, the city of Girona and, above all, the Costa Brava.
In fact, by county, where there are currently more homes for tourist use is in the Empordà. Baix Empordà accumulates 16,799 and Alt Empordà has registered a very similar figure: 16,125. In the rest of the demarcation, the figure is significantly lower. La Selva has 6,871 registered; Cerdanya, 980; the Gironès, 959; la Garrotxa, 403; the Ripollès 559; the Pla de l’Estany, 200 and the part of Osona that belongs to Girona has one.
During the last decade, where HUT registrations have increased the most is in Cerdanya, where it has gone from 44 licenses (2013) to 980 (2023); that is to say, that they have multiplied by twenty. The second county where they have increased the most is Gironès, multiplying by fifteen and going from 61 to 959. Meanwhile, in Pla de l’Estany they have climbed from 13 to 200. The counties of Girona where the increase has been smaller are Selva, which had 1,849 HUT in 2013 and according to the latest data it has accumulated 6,871, and Baix Empordà, which has gone from 4,354 to 16,799.
Register HUTs
Tourism insists that the regulations that require this activity to be registered serve to “prevent it from becoming an unfair competition for the sector and to regulate it”. They state that the activity is not new and that “registering them serves to have data on how many there are in each area”. The law that regulates them was approved in Catalonia in 2012, being “a pioneer in Europe”.
All those entire properties or shared homes that are rented for a continuous period of time equal to or less than 31 days are considered tourist use homes. To register them, you must check if the Town Council of the municipality where it is located allows it and, if so, apply to the Generalitat. “Regulating them guarantees that they comply with the regulations because the councils check it and allows for control to be established,” says Carmona.
To process the registration, each locality imposes a registration fee (if it has not been decided not to grant more licences, as happened in Barcelona, or a moratorium is applied, as is the case in Girona). And, once permission is obtained to start the activity, the tourist tax per guest and night must be paid and the identity of the people staying there must also be communicated to the Mossos d’Esquadra, as is the case with all the hotel sector. In addition, owners are required to upload the registration number on the platforms where they promote this home.
9.7 million euros in penalties
Although the regulation and fees imposed on HUTs depends on each City Council, the penalties for carrying out this activity without having the home registered are the same throughout the territory. As detailed by Turisme, minor infringements are penalized with a warning or a fine of up to 3,000 euros. Serious offenses entail a fine of between 3,001 and 60,000 euros or the suspension of the activity for a maximum of one year. Finally, infringements considered very serious entail a fine of between 60,001 and 600,000 euros, the temporary suspension of the activity (for a maximum period of two years) or even the definitive closure of the establishment.
The Deputy Director General of Planning and Tourist Inspection details that “inspector activity through the digital environment” is carried out to control the records. In other words, it is checked that the offer of this type of online accommodation proves to be registered in the register. For non-compliance with the regulations, around 1,700 fines have been imposed in Catalonia since 2013, with which, according to data provided by Tourism, nearly 9.7 MEUR has been collected. In addition, there are currently around 300 other files pending.
#regions #Girona #concentrate #homes #tourist #registered #Catalonia