The administrative obstacles that many municipalities put on the regulated activity of short-term vacation rentals encourage intrusiveness and the atomization of the sector, according to the president of the tourist housing association of the Valencian Community, Miguel Ángel Sotillos.
The head of APTUR CV, invited to the monthly meeting of the Valencia Leaders Club last Friday, recalled that in addition to the around 55,000 licensed tourist homes (according to the INE), it is estimated that there are some 50-60,000 illegal tourist apartments in the Community that operate outside the law or with contracts that individuals or companies make in accordance with the Urban Leasing Law, since many municipalities prevent the activity of tourist homes included in the Tourism Law of the region.
For this reason, Sotillos believes it is necessary to move towards legislative approval and the legal certainty that any economic activity needs, “which is the only way to guarantee the rights and duties of owners, entrepreneurs and users, and not depend on continuous regulatory changes depending on the political color of the municipal government in power.
The president of the regional tourist housing association believes it is necessary to promote associationism and fight against intrusion with new awareness campaigns in the sector, in addition to demonstrating the weight that VUTs have in the Community as a whole, which already represent 55% of its accommodation offer (more than 260,000 beds), and generate an annual impact of more than 1,700 million euros that specifically benefit the local retail trade in the areas in which it operates.
Miguel Ángel Sotillos also defended the sector against “unfounded attacks from specific economic and political sectors that accuse us of raising rents or causing inconvenience to neighbors when, except in specific cases, it is impossible for the 1.6 % of homes affect the rental price or neighborhood coexistence, “he explained.
The president of the regional tourist housing association recalled that APTUR CV has joined the campaign against the tourist tax in the Community because, “this is not the time to open a new debate in the sector, but rather to try to recover Tourism among all in our Valencian Community, which accounts for up to 15% of GDP, and which has been one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic with losses of between 50% and 70% of turnover in the last two years ».
In addition, Sotillos explained that the application of a new tax will mean adaptation costs and an overload of work that only regulated accommodation will bear, which will encourage illegal rental, and will punish Valencians themselves when they travel in our Community, since they represent almost 40% of the national tourism stays in the Valencian Community.
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