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Spain's Valencia to fine illegal tourist apartments up to €600,000

Tourism Valencia city council is taking further steps to try and control the number of illegal tourist apartments in the Mediterranean city, with a severe new sanctioning regime soon set to come into force. Valencia council will soon be able to impose fines of up to €600,000 on illegal tourist apartments in the coastal city. A plenary session held this week will see a vote on delegated powers from the regional government, as outlined in the Law on Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality for the Valencian Community, local media reports. The bolstered powers will allow the council to initiate, investigate and resolve sanctioning procedures for tourist housing in the city, and adhere to the framework agreement between the regional government and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP). The fines will be severe and range from €10,000 all the way up to €600,000 for more serious offences. This follows previous steps by local authorities to limit tourist rental accommodation in the city. In June 2024 the council approved plans to crackdown on the use of residential properties as tourist housing in the historic centre, known as the Ciutat Vella or 'old town'. Previously it announced that it would also for a year, with the possibility to extend the measure, as average rents surged past €1,000 in the city. In early 2025, the council took further steps to restrict illegal holiday lets in the regional capital, with plans to limit short-term tourist rentals to just 2 percent of residential properties per neighbourhood. For those neighbourhoods where the 2 percent figure has already been exceeded, such as in Ciutat Vella or El Cabanyal, popular tourist destinations, there will be a total ban on new tourist rentals. The upcoming plenary session is also expected to move forward with plans for the city's Low Emission Zone (known as ZBE in Spanish) which will still have to go through a so-called 'citizen security commission' before being implemented. The ZBE will be accompanied by a series of measures to promote sustainable forms of transport, including a free temporary transport pass for commuters and car owners affected by the restrictions who don't buy another one during the validity period. See Also