The Consell de Ibiza wants to disable illegal tourist flats in a faster, more agile way

The main objectives will be the supervision, control and verification of compliance with tourist regulations, the proper functioning of activities and services of the sector and detect such clandestine activities. Thus, the plan places special attention on tourist rental in multi-family buildings and on those companies that act as intermediaries in these cases that are not registered in the registry of tourist companies, activities and establishments of Ibiza, without neglecting the control of other tourist activities. However, Cardona admits that the Consell does not have the powers to disable these holiday homes, which are the focus of the plan.

 

The main objectives will be the supervision, control and verification of compliance with tourism regulations, the proper functioning of activities and services in the sector and detect such clandestine activities

She highlights that they tried to change the law to be able to ban these flats in an agile way by the Consell itself: “But PSOE and Podemos voted against in Parliament, so we have to follow the normal administrative procedure,” explains the insular director. She admits that it is a longer procedure, but that does not mean that they will stop acting against these irregular activities.

Thus, she assures that from the Consell they have power to impose sanctions, and that since they cannot seal flats, as the government team would like, they can request the corresponding court orders: «First we have to carry out the sanctioning procedure requesting precautionary measures and request that a judge gives us the order to seal the flat, “he says.

Complaints process “up to date”

This plan is approved in support of a sector that suffers the consequences of such unfair competition. Cardona points out that they receive many complaints and reports in this regard and that they try to “deal with them on a daily basis.”

This is the first time that a plan of this type has been approved with the current government team: «When we were going to do it, Covid arrived and it disrupted everything a bit, but it was not a priority issue because last year, as a result of the pandemic, there was no point in carrying out inspections,” says Cardona. Now the activity is recovering with some normality and the lines of work for the inspectors have to be established, Cardona also stresses.

The Consell also emphasizes that this project seeks to guarantee respect for the rights of users of tourist services and inform those responsible for these services about their rights and fulfillment of their obligations.