Spain’s Supreme Court rules on holiday lets

Spain’s Supreme Court has ruled that if a community of owners wishes to prohibit holiday rentals it must do so expressly.

The ruling followed a case in which neighbours sued an owner who had let their property. The plaintiffs claimed the activity was prohibited by the statutes of the community and that it was “Annoying, unhealthy or uncomfortable to other owners.”

The court ruled that use as a holiday rental property did not contravene the Law of Horizontal Property which governs communities of owners, and did not constitute a nuisance.

It is possible for a community to prohibit holiday rentals, but it must do so expressly in its statutes which, since another ruling last year, would require a majority of more than 60% of owners in a general meeting.