With the horn, Esquerra and the PSC agreed yesterday on an alternative text to validate the decree-law that regulates housing for tourist use. It was negotiated until the last moment, and the result was a document that lowers the initial approach of the Department of Territory. “We don’t like some of the changes, because they leave doors open”, said Councilor Ester Capella, who, however, assured that the text “maintains the initial spirit”.
“Our goal is to remove housing from tourist use so that it can be used for residential purposes”, insisted Capella in Parliament, who warned that he will work “so that the decree returns to the place where it should never have come from”, in allusion to the initial text, now in force, but only temporarily. The regulation approved in November was to be applied in 262 municipalities: in the 140 where the residential market is considered tense and in 122 more where the Territory considers that the offer of housing for tourist use breaks the balance of the urban environment . Despite this, the new text reduces the mandatory compliance to the 140 stressed municipalities and leaves it up to the other councils to decide “on the need to establish a limit in accordance with reality or not”.
The amendments also remove the maximum limit of ten tourist flats per 100 inhabitants – which exceeded Salou, Santa Susanna, Palafrugell and Cambrils – and establish that the license will be automatically renewed every five years, unless the urban planning changes. “The decree is approved because the Government has moved; it is a good agreement because we cannot treat all municipalities in the same way, the Pyrenees is not like Barcelona”, argued the socialist Òscar Ordeig (PSC).
So, the decree establishes that it will be each municipality, and not the Government, who defines what limit of tourist use homes it wants to set, although the councils will have to define it ensuring that the needs of residential use are covered .
The agreed modifications will be incorporated into the decree in the parliamentary procedure before March 31, according to the agreement. For this reason, the competition of another group that, at least, abstains will be required. The CUP and the commons, who endorsed the decree, already yesterday spoke out against the contributions of the PSC and in favor of stricter regulation.
The Junts group, which opposed the decree, will present an amendment in its entirety with an alternative text agreed with the tourism sector and the Catalan Agency of Municipalities. The formation, very upset yesterday with Capella for his intervention – “when they toast at Christmas, think about those who have to leave the flat because they can’t pay the rent”, he told them – assured that it is a regulation designed for Barcelona and that does not take into account that the majority of tourist flats are owned by small owners with second residences.
Jaume Collboni did not take long to celebrate the approval of the decree law: “It is a success for Barcelona to have this regulation, as it will allow the development of these homes to be ordered and governed and reduce them in the most tense areas, such as now Ciutat Vella,” he said.
