Las Palmas De Gran Canaria (EFE).- Some 400 people demonstrated this Saturday in Playa del Inglés (Gran Canaria) against the decision of the Government of the Canary Islands to impose sanctions on the owners of apartments classified as tourist who use them as second residence, as well as for vacation home or short or long term rental.
After the protest, the owners and members of the Platform for People Affected by the Tourism Law have held a meeting to analyze the consequences of the sanctions, initiated in this legislature.
So far there have been six fines ranging from 2,200 to 9,000 euros against apartment owners in tourist complexes who do not want to rent them, but rather use them as their home or second home.
These are the first six sanctions of a legal conflict derived from the 2013 Tourism Law and that puts in check those who cannot prove that they use their apartment as their first home or second residence since before 2017.
“The legislation favors tourist operators and leaves owners without options,” said one of those affected in statements to Radio Televisión Canaria.
The vice president of the Platform, Maribe Doreste, has pointed out in statements to EFE that the demonstration and subsequent meeting have “exceeded expectations” and has described the attendance as “massive”.
“IT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION”
In the opinion of this victim, what is happening is a “constitutional violation and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court regarding the right to property and free residence.”
Likewise, he has accused the business community behind the tourist exploitation of this type of apartment of “pressure the political class” not to change the law and solve the situation in which they are immersed.
In this way, the Platform has presented a Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP) so that a new law contemplates this reality and better adapts to the situation they are going through.
“The current regulation encourages conflict in the communities of owners because it favors the entry into the complexes of opportunistic companies and rentiers without capital,” said Doreste, who has accused these companies of “seeking rentierism” and of imposing limitations on owners They don’t want to contract with them.
He has also lamented that, “despite the sympathy of some political leaders”, the reality is that the administrations “persist in harassing owners who do not give in or who want to use what belongs to them for their own use”.
“WE ARE GOING TO GET TO STRASBOURG”
“We are showing strength and unity, not as defeated, but to show that we are here, we have strength and that we will reach Strasbourg if necessary to defend the right to what is ours,” Doreste said.
Thus, the owners have considered a “quite a strong surprise” that the Government “has opened the ban” on the sanctions, while Doreste has highlighted the lack of understanding that businessmen ask for more beds when “the most they fill is 80 % of beds”.
“We have been at a tourist record and the most they fill here is 80% of the occupancy. Why do they want our house if they don’t reach 100%”, Maribe Doreste asked herself.
However, the businessmen who operate this type of establishment have asked that the 2013 law be complied with, “especially the tenants”.
“What we defend is that people who have come since 2017 comply with the law, especially those who have arrived recently, who think they can do whatever they want,” one of the businessmen involved in the attack told Televisión Canaria. conflict, who has opined that the residential use of the apartments and vacation rentals “has to do with the loss of 68,000 tourist beds throughout the archipelago.” EFE