Seville, the capital of Spain’s Andalusia region, is taking some new steps to cope with the rapid spread of unlicensed vacation rentals, including cutting off water to the illegal rentals.
The moves in Seville come at a time when numbers of Spanish cities are trying to cut back on needed housing turning into short-term rentals and at a time when there is increasing public sentiment against ‘over-tourism.’ In Barcelona, the city plans to simply not renew the licenses of 10,000 short-term apartments.
Seville’s mayor told reporters that the city will “act with zero tolerance towards tourist apartments that operate irregularly. More control and more firmness in sanctions to put an end to illegal apartments in Seville after years of looking the other way.” In some central districts as much as 10% of the housing may now be in use this way.
The city is also reviewing licensed lets to enforce rules that may have been let slip, and legislation is pending in the city council on other measures.
