A travel hotspot in Spain loved by Brits is a step closer to limiting holiday lets as part of a major clampdown. City officials in Valencia this week waved through new rules limiting holiday home numbers.
City Council of Valencia’s regulations impose a 2% limit on the total stock of holiday homes per neighbourhood and district. Mayor María José Catalá described the new rules as the most restrictive in Spain. The conservative People’s Party politician posted on social media that the council had ended eight years of « uncontrolled chaos », which she blamed on Valencia’s former left-wing coalition administration.
She added: « We marked a turning point by protecting the right of residents to live in their city with courage and without difficulty. »
Euronews reported Ms Catalá as saying: « We are not just a sun and beach city seeking mass low-cost tourism. »
Valencia has seen a number of mass protests against overcrowding from tourism and spiralling housing costs.
A report published by the local council showed that 24.7% of the 11,938,668 tourists who visited the Valencian region in 2024 came from the UK. Large numbers also came from France (18.9%) and the Nordic countries (8.7%).
Officials in the city argue their new regulations will make sure 98% of new homes will be for residential use only.
The rules, approved at a city council meeting, include an amendment which stipulates tourist accommodation numbers cannot exceed 8% of the resident population registered in a district or neighbourhood.
No more than 15% of holiday accommodation will be allowed on the ground floor of buildings in residential neighbourhoods either.
Francisco Guardeño from the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Valencia told Euronews over 9,000 tourism apartments operate illegally in the city.
He said: « The city’s main tourist accommodation sector, almost twice the number of hotel accommodations, operates in the shadows.
« This is the problem that the proposal before us does not solve. »
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