Owners’ association and tourist accommodation: what you should check before authorising it or objecting
If your owners’ association is going to vote on a property used for tourist accommodation, it is worth checking the required majority, the effects of the resolution, the minutes documentation and what limits the meeting can set. It is also important to distinguish this activity from the letting of a main home or a temporary rental, and to check how costs are shared if the resolution goes ahead.
What changes when the owners’ association votes on tourist accommodation
If your building is considering approving, limiting, conditioning or prohibiting the carrying on of a tourist accommodation activity in a home, this is not an ordinary resolution. The Horizontal Property Act provides for an enhanced majority and specific effects on fees and expenses. In particular, article 17.12 allows the owners’ association to adopt an express resolution on this activity with the favourable vote of three fifths of the total owners who, in turn, represent three fifths of the participation shares. In addition, that same majority is required if special expense contributions are to be established or the participation of the home where the activity takes place is to be increased, provided the increase does not exceed 20 % (Law 49/1960, on Horizontal Property).
This type of resolution is relevant because it directly affects the use of the property and coexistence. It is worth distinguishing it from other categories that are no longer the same matter: a main home tenancy is not the same as a temporary home tenancy, nor is it the same as partial subletting. Under the Urban Tenancies Act, tourist accommodation is excluded from its scope when the temporary transfer is subject to sector-specific tourism regulations and marketed for profit; moreover, the maximum duration mentioned in that exclusion is thirty-one days. This clarification matters so as not to confuse tourist use with an ordinary rental (Law 29/1994, on Urban Tenancies).
Steps to check whether the resolution is valid
1. **Check the agenda**. If the meeting is to decide on this activity, the matter must be clearly included in the notice. A vague reference to “any other business” or “questions and answers” is not enough.
2. **Review the required majority**. Not all owners’ association resolutions require the same threshold. Here the law requires a specific qualified majority of three fifths of owners and shares.
3. **See whether the resolution limits, conditions or prohibits**. The law allows all three options, but the legal effect will not be the same if the owners’ association approves a partial limitation, a condition of exercise or a complete prohibition.
4. **Check whether special charges or an increase in expenses are to be imposed**. These can only be agreed within the legal framework and with the limit indicated by the rule.
5. **Read the full minutes before considering the matter closed**. The minutes must record the wording of the resolution, the voting result and the corresponding shares.
What you should look at if you support or oppose the measure
If you are in favour of regulating the activity, it is advisable that the resolution be drafted precisely. An imprecise text often gives rise to later disputes: for example, banning the activity is not the same as requiring certain conditions of use or a special contribution to common expenses.
If you are against it, pay particular attention to three points:
- whether the matter was actually on the agenda;
- whether the majority reached is the one required by law;
- whether the content of the resolution complies with legal limits and does not encroach on unrelated matters.
Also remember that resolutions validly adopted in accordance with article 17 are binding on all owners. Therefore, if the resolution goes ahead, it will affect not only those who voted in favour.
Common mistakes to avoid
- **Confusing a proposal with a resolution that has already been approved**. Until there is a valid vote and the minutes are finalised, there is no enforceable resolution.
- **Thinking that a simple majority is enough**. That is not the case here: the law requires an enhanced majority.
- **Failing to distinguish between tourist accommodation and other tenancies**. The LAU treats main home tenancies, temporary tenancies and transfers subject to tourism regulations differently.
- **Forgetting that the resolution has no retroactive effect**. If the owners’ association approves limits or special charges, the rule itself establishes that those resolutions will not have retroactive effect.
- **Drafting the resolution without precision**. Ambiguity often ends in challenges or enforcement problems.
What you can do after the meeting
If the resolution harms you, or you believe it was adopted without respect for the law or the bylaws, you may consider challenging it under article 18 of the Horizontal Property Act. That action is subject to specific grounds, standing and limitation periods. In addition, to challenge it, the owner must be up to date with payment of due debts to the owners’ association or deposit them beforehand, save for the legal exception relating to participation shares (Law 49/1960, on Horizontal Property).
If, on the other hand, the resolution is correct and you want to avoid future conflicts, it is advisable to:
1. keep the notice, minutes and notification of the resolution;
2. check whether the resolution alters the bylaws or internal regulations;
3. review how the expenses will be shared and from when;
4. set out in writing any complementary agreement on use, signage or coexistence.
Useful guidance for owners
The key is not only to know whether the owners’ association can approve a measure, but to verify **how** it is approved and **what exact scope** it has. In buildings with mixed use or with several absent owners, errors in the notice, in the wording of the minutes or in the calculation of majorities are a common source of conflict.
If you need an indicative estimate of the value of your property before deciding whether to sell, rent or reorganise the use of the flat, you can request it in our property valuation in Madrid. The online valuation is indicative, provides a range with a PDF report and, if you wish, can be completed with an optional visit.
If you would prefer to discuss your case with UBICASA, you can write to us from our contact page. Our office is at Calle Montesa 29, Madrid, and we are open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00.
In any event, this guide is only general guidance. If the building has special bylaws, prior resolutions or an already established tourist use, it is advisable to review the specific documentation before making decisions.