Latest news with #InsideSpain
Local Spain
3 days ago
- Business
- Local Spain
Inside Spain: Catalonia backs ban on foreign residents buying homes
Property For Members In this week's Inside Spain we look at how the Catalan Parliament has voted in favour of preventing temporary residents who've lived in the country for under five years from buying homes. Restrictions on foreign property ownership appear to be at the forefront of national and regional political agendas in Spain currently. Most recently, we've had Pedro Sánchez's ruling party push forward with the idea of a new 100 percent tax which would double the property price for non-residents of the EU. But there are those who want to take it one step further and restrict actual foreign residents in Spain from buying homes. The plenary session of the Catalan Parliament on Thursday supported a motion by separatist party the Republican Left (ERC) calling on the government to limit the purchase of temporary residents to "curb speculation." ERC is the party which already tried to get the Spanish Congress to do this, but the proposal was rejected. Now they're attempting to do the same but just in Catalonia, where 45 percent of 25 to 40-year-old residents are foreign born. The legal text specifies that only foreigners who have "permanent residency" - those who have officially resided in Spain for five years - should be able to purchase a property, and that they would to prove this residency period first to the region's housing department before being able to buy. The premise for this is that there has to be limits for property purchases from overseas which aren't for 'habitual and permanent residence'. The initiative received the approval of the Catalan Socialists-Units parliamentary group and ERC, Comuns and CUP, while right-wing parties Junts, PP, Vox and Aliança Catalana rejected it. A similar left-right political divide has been seen on a national level vis-à-vis the 100 percent property tax. At one point, far-right party Vox referred to such proposals as 'xenophobic'. The Catalan Parliament's green-lighted document also stipulates that a supplementary tax could be introduced on the transfer of real estate to non-EU residents, in line with what Spain's ruling Socialists have proposed, although it's unclear if this would be exactly the same. Furthermore, a "differentiated regime" could be established for legal entities from other EU states wishing to acquire a property for commercial use. The Catalan Parliament has also approved a restriction on foreign investment in real estate development if for commercial purposes. Interestingly, what was rejected was a proposal to reduce the Property Transfer Tax (ITP) on the purchase of a first home for residents. Crucially, even though the Catalan Parliament has voted in favour of this motion, it remains a declaration of intent with no immediate effect. In other words, foreigners - regardless of their nationality or residency - can continue to buy properties in Catalonia as this is not a law that's in force. What the motion and vote does require is that Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Catalan leader, Socialist Salvador Illa, take action to create a 'legal framework' to make these limits on foreign property ownership a reality. Whether this actually occurs will remain to be seen, subject as well to the possibility that such measures may contravene EU legislation on the free movement of capital from within and outside of the bloc. What does seem to be clear is that hardly a week goes by in Spain currently without a new proposal from a political party or a region hard hit by the housing crisis - usually those with large foreign populations as well - suggesting foreigners should be limited from buying Spanish property. As with every war of attrition, it may just be that one side caves in eventually, and that some legislation affecting foreign home ownership in Spain does pass. People doubted the cancellation of the golden visa scheme - which gave Spanish residency to non-EU nationals who bought property worth €500,000 - would ever happen. But after a year of legal rigmarole, the residency scheme for wealthy foreigners did get scrapped. See Also
Local Spain
24-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
Inside Spain: Privatised beaches and Airbnb fights back
Inside Spain For Members In this week's Inside Spain we look at how swanky bars are taking over public beaches much to the discontent of locals, and how Airbnb is reacting to the Spanish government's order for it to take down 66,000 listings. If you've been to a beach in Spain, there's a chance you've stopped for a drink or lunch at a chiringuito, which is the Spanish word for beach bar. They were once no-frills shack-like bars at the top end of the beach, but just like gentrification has turned Spain's bog-standard Bar Manolo into a bohemian café full of digital nomads, chiringuitos have also experienced a modernisation, and in some cases proliferation. This is the case in Málaga's coastal neighbourhood of La Malagueta, where locals have recently been protesting against the growing number of chiringuitos that take away public space for beachgoers such as picnic areas (merenderos). And they're not small establishments either, but rather 300 sqm private beach bars that resemble nightclubs or high-end restaurants. 'It's a real monstrosity,' Carlos Babot, spokesperson for the SOS Malagueta platform, told El País about one such chiringuito. 'And authorities don't care. They don't do anything to prevent it.' His organisation was founded to denounce what Malagueta residents consider to be a breach of the law due to the increasing number of restaurants, sun loungers, and other services which are catering to tourists while occupying a public beach. There are currently six beach bars and one restaurant operating at Málaga's main urban beach. For many it's a symptom of what Málaga has become, a city which caters for wealthy foreigners and big profits instead of local communities. And obviously, Málaga isn't the only place in Spain where beaches are being 'privatised'. For years, Ibiza residents have complained that many beach clubs don't comply with municipal regulations. "Residents have had their beaches privatized, and we already have our designated areas, we're like natives on their reservations," Jaume Ribas, spokesperson for the Citizen Platform PROU, told La Sexta TV channel. "It's hard for a family, for a normal person, to put their towels in front of the sun loungers when you have people drinking champagne and cava with loud music behind you," he added. Ironically, the other meaning for chiringuito in Spanish refers to a shady business or a government department born from cronyism. But there are regional governments realising what the rise of mega-beach bars can mean for locals and their enjoyment of public spaces. For example, Asturias introduced legislation in 2024 to ensure that beaches weren't overexploited by chiringuitos. Spanish law states that no beach in the country can be private, but what is happening at many of the most popular playas is just another example of how overtourism affects the social fabric of coastal neighbourhoods, and in the process changes the face of Spain. In other news, perhaps the biggest story this week was that the Spanish government has told Airbnb to take down nearly 66,000 listings for 'illegal' holiday lets across the country. These are reportedly tourist flats in residential buildings that don't have the right licences, and which in the process are contributing to the country's dwindling long-term rental stock, adding further problems to Spain's housing crisis. Airbnb has since hit back at the demands of Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs, arguing that the ruling "is at odds" with Spanish and European regulations. The short-term accommodation platform has announced that it will continue to appeal all decisions affecting this case. An Airbnb spokesperson has told Spanish news agency Efe that Spain's Consumer Affairs Ministry "doesn't have the authority" to enforce regulations regarding tourist accommodation. Furthermore, Airbnb claims that Spanish authorities have used an "indiscriminate" methodology for the removal of listings, including ads that display licences and others that might not require them, such as seasonal rentals, which are not technically tourist lets, though still controversial in Spain. The spokesperson added that the government's order "has also deliberately ignored" Supreme Court rulings "which have made it clear that not all Airbnb listings require a registration number." Airbnb argues that it requires all hosts to certify that they have the necessary permits and reminds them throughout the year to check and comply with local regulations. Non-compliance may result in ad removal from its platform, it notes. Among the platform's other arguments is that it's subject to the EU's Digital Services Act, that it has no supervisory obligations, and that it should not be considered a real estate service, according to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Airbnb has highlighted that in January 2022, Spain's Supreme Court followed the ruling of the European Union Court of Justice in issuing a ruling establishing that the information in advertisements, including the registration number where necessary, is the responsibility of the final tourist service provider and not of the platform on which it is advertised.
Local Spain
12-04-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
Inside Spain: Foreign residents won't be banned from buying homes
Property For Members In this week's Inside Spain we look at how one town wants to use AI to 'personalise' tourists' holidays, and how a proposal to limit foreigners from buying properties in Spain if they haven't lived in the country for five years has been rejected. AI is seeping into every walk of life, so it's no surprise that it's also starting to make its way into Spain's tourism industry. The coastal town of Benicassim in Castellón province, famous for its international music festival, will be the first place in Spain to use artificial intelligence to give holidaymakers tips. Using the geolocation system of tourists' mobile phones, Benicassim town hall will send messages to them informing them of sites, offers and services near them, from renting a jet ski to where to eat. However, holidaymakers will first have to download an app, so they won't receive the suggestions unless they want to. The software will take into account their preferences and send them prompts based on this. Monuments, museums, green spaces, eateries, transport options, hotels and so on, all will be covered by a technology that in the words of Benicassim authorities 'will personalise the experience of tourists'. In fact, 11 other municipalities in Castellón province in the coastal region of Valencia will also have similar AI geolocation services soon. There are already travel companies such as Expedia and Kayak which offer users these virtual holiday assistants as well. The popular holiday town of Benidorm is also looking to have an AI-assisted chatbot to improve communication and access to resources and services for residents and tourists. So, like it or not, no doubt we'll be seeing a lot more of AI in Spain's tourism hotspots in the years to come. Unfortunately, that may come with the more sinister side of AI, as part of Benicassim's artificial intelligence deal also includes a video surveillance system based on Deep Learning technologies which features facial recognition, people counting, and movement speed. For example, it can detect if a car is driving in the wrong direction, if a group of people enters a restricted area, or if the capacity of a venue is exceeded. In other news, Spain's Congressional Housing Committee on Thursday rejected a recent proposal to prevent foreigners from buying property in Spain if they can't prove that they've lived in the country for at least five years. The proposal, presented by Catalan party ERC, only received the support from the Spanish government's hard-left junior coalition partner Sumar, while Spain's ruling Socialists abstained. Incidentally, far-right party Vox expressed its "interest for any initiative aimed at limiting foreign property demand in all areas, including the purchasing of homes, which drives people from their homes and neighbourhoods, displaces the population and causes speculation", but ultimately they considered the proposal wasn't far-reaching enough. ERC wants the regional governments of Spain's 17 autonomous communities to have the powers to apply restrictions on foreign buyers, even if they are residents. They proposed a regional authorisation system whereby foreigners planning to buy a home in Spain would first have to prove their eligibility by applying for a permit from the housing department of the region where the property is located. The criteria for this would be first proving five years of continuous residence in the country. This represented the first time that a political party in Spain has suggested that actual foreign residents in Spain be limited from buying homes in Spain whereas prior proposals applied only to non-EU non-residents. Were such a measure to be passed, it would mean that temporary residents in Spain (those who've resided in Spain for under five years) would potentially be barred from buying homes in the country. In mid-January, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made international headlines when he announced that his government was considering either a supertax on non-resident non-EU property buyers, or completely preventing them from buying Spanish homes, unless they can prove links to Spain. All of the above proposals have been suggested as ways to alleviate the country's housing crisis. It is yet to be seen if either of Sánchez's measures will make it through the Congress and Senate before actually coming into force.
Local Spain
15-02-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
Inside Spain: Ryanair's replacement and 73 days to buy a home
Inside Spain For Members In this week's Inside Spain we look at how the regional flight routes being slashed by Ryanair may be replaced by another airline, and how if you want to buy a property in Spain you have to rush more than ever. If you've followed the news lately, you will have seen that Ryanair and the Spanish government are at war with each other, in the metaphorical sense at least. The low-cost carrier recently announced it will slash 800,000 seats this summer and scrap or reduce flight routes from regional airports in Spain due to Spanish airport operator Aena's allegedly 'excessive' fees. Ryanair's outspoken boss Mike O'Leary has gone as far as calling Spanish Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy a 'crazy communist' and used an image depicting him as a clown to promote the carrier's latest sale. Mockery aside, the real victims are flight passengers who regularly fly to and from Asturias, Valladolid, Jerez, Vigo, Santiago, Zaragoza and Santander, as their airports already had few flight routes to begin with. Fortunately, it seems like there might be light at the end of the tunnel. The CEO of Spanish low-cost airline Volotea Carlos Muñoz told a press conference this week that he plans to swoop in and replace the Ryanair flights the Irish low-cost airline will cut in Spain. "If Ryanair leaves regional airports, nobody should worry because there is Volotea," Muñoz said. The company operates from two bases in Spain, Asturias and Bilbao, and sees itself opening a third and even a fourth in the next five years. 'We have very little room to change our schedule for this summer season, but we could take Ryanair's position for next summer,' Volotea's boss added, suggesting that it won't be an immediate solution. 'We believe there is a commercial case for connecting regional airports,' he added, contrary to what Ryanair has said. Admittedly, Volotea offers nowhere near as many flights to the United Kingdom and Ireland to and from Spain, but it sees itself with the capacity to improve the connectivity of regional airports with other secondary destinations in Spain and Europe. So it seems that Volotea, or rather the affected regional airports in Spain, will need help from other airlines to fill the gap being left by Ryanair. Still, poco a poco (little by little). In other news, if you have your eyes set on a very sought-after property in Spain, you now have less time than ever to seal the deal. According to a study by Spanish real estate company Tecnocasa, the average time Spaniards are taking to carry out a property purchase is being sped up by the voracious competition in the market: 73 days on average now. And if we look at the most sought-after real estate markets, buyers are in an even bigger rush. In Barcelona, the average was only 68 days in 2024, in Valencia it was 67, 66 in Málaga, 62 in Seville, 61 in Bilbao, and in the Spanish capital it's just 60 days. Compare this to the average time it took to buy a home in Spain in 2020 - from pinpointing the desired property to signing the title deeds - and the average time was around 94 days. According to Tecnocasa, 55 percent of Spanish properties have been on the market for less than half a year. Then there are the real winners, which are advertised for just three months, representing 37 percent of the total. "Properties barely have time to appear on the listings before multiple offers compete for them in a real casting call," reads the report. Of course, then there are properties that don't jump out, be it because of their location, the state they're in or because they're overpriced. Properties for sale for a year or more make up almost a quarter of the total. The main conclusion the report has drawn is that there's a clear mismatch between rising demand for Spanish homes and the dwindling supply in the cities and towns where people want to buy. This explains the rush to snap up the best Spanish properties before another buyer beats you to the finish line. Rising property prices and rents are pushing people in Spain to act sooner because they see little chance of the market turning around and real estate getting any cheaper. Therefore, demand keeps increasing whilst supply falls further, a bad combination for prospective buyers in Spain. "A 39 percent increase in demand in a single year is not normal," Lázaro Cubero, director of Analysis at the Tecnocasa Group, concluded. See Also
Local Spain
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Local Spain
Inside Spain: Algae football kits and why the police are far-right
Inside Spain For Members In this week's Inside Spain, we look at why Vox would be in power if only the Spanish police and military could vote, and how a Spanish football team is raising awareness about an invasive algae polluting Andalusia's sea with an innovative kit. According to Spain's Research Council (CIS), almost half of Spain's police and military forces vote for far-right groups. Their data shows that 33 percent of them support Vox, while 14 percent vote for the fringe radical party of Alvise Pérez, 'The Party is Over' (Se Acabó La Fiesta). In fact, more police officers and soldiers vote for Santiago Abascal's Vox party than for the long-established centre-right Popular Party (30 percent). So if only the Spanish military and police voted in the country's general election there would most likely be a far-right government in power, especially if they aligned with the PP, as they'd have 77 percent of the total votes. So would the remaining 13 percent of the vote share go to Sánchez's Socialists? No, as 7 percent of Spanish police and military officers opt for the blank or null vote option, and only 6 percent vote for the PSOE. And how about the hard-left junior coalition party Sumar? They only get a measly 1 percent of votes from policías and militares. "In political sociology we are not used to seeing gaps of this size," Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte, professor of Political Science at the University of Southampton, told news site Info Libre about his findings showing that Spanish soldiers were five times more likely to vote for Vox than civilians. So why are the police and armed forces in a country which is generally quite left-leaning so overly right-wing? Their patriotic beliefs have certainly played a role, with Vox's criticism of the Catalan independence push and Sánchez's amnesty for its main perpetrators striking a chord with the police and armed forces. Even though Spain's national police head Francisco Pardo called Vox's claim that immigration caused crime 'a huge lie', it seems clear that those on the ground don't think the same. For Turnbull-Dugarte, the comradery that occurs in the Spanish army barracks and police academis pushes soldiers and police officers to the right. The traditional military culture, work duties linked to authoritarianism, the emphasis on masculinity, the patriotic vision of the State, the rejection of minorities considered unpatriotic, the sacredness of national unity - all these views align far more with Vox's rhetoric than with the progressive talk of Spain's PM. Let's just hope Santiago Abascal doesn't choose to stage a coup d'état, because it seems likely he'd have thousands of police officers and soldiers on his side. The jersey is made with recycled plastic from the ocean as well as a textile fabric created from the brown algae. Named Rugulopteryx okamurae, the algae has spread rapidly in the Mediterranean impacting biodiversity, fishing and tourism, as well as proving expensive to remove. Betis, who presented the shirt in the town of Tarifa on Thursday, a town particularly affected by the issue, will wear it on February 16th against Real Sociedad in La Liga. "The presence of invasive algae on our coasts is destroying our ecosystem," wrote Betis in a post on social media. "To confront them, the first kit made with fibres created from these algae was born." Marine biologist Candela Sánchez Atienzar told news agency AFP the algae, native to the North Pacific, most likely arrived in Spanish waters in 2015 "through the ballast waters of merchant ships". "When it arrived it started to spread out of control, there's no invasion in the history of science described on this scale," she said. Rafael Muela Pastor, the director of Betis' social foundation, said it was a good opportunity to raise awareness of the problem. "News was reaching us that the invasive Asian algae was causing many problems in all sectors in the area," he said. "We wanted to take advantage of this situation in some way to draw attention to the importance of caring for our oceans and seas."
