Visitors to Seville could soon find themselves very thirsty, after city authorities promised to dry up the flow of illegal tourism rentals in the southern Spanish city, by cutting off their water supply.
Rentals above first floor must be independent
Announced this week, a review is under way checking up on the credentials of Seville’s rental apartment stock. Owners have had two years to act on rules introduced in 2022 stating that all rentals above the first floor must have their own independent entrance. But so far 715 apartments have been found to be in breach of the regulations, according to an unnamed Reuters’ source in the mayor’s office.
The municipality is in discussion with the landlords already identified but has said it will ask the state-run water company Emasesa to shut off the water supply to those properties unless the owners cease renting them or comply with the independent door requirement.
Water and housing shortages
As well as helping to address water shortages in drought-stricken Spain, the move is part of a wider set of measures aimed at limiting the supply of tourism rentals in the Andalusian capital where, the same source estimates, up to 7,000 holiday lets are operating illegally, and an additional 8,000 to 9,000 have their paperwork in order.
Renting out one’s property surreptitiously as a short-term let has been made easier over the last nearly two decades since the advent of online booking platforms like Airbnb. But with such a huge proportion of the accommodation stock given over to the lucrative tourist sector rather than the residential market, locals have long complained they are priced out of housing altogether.
An outright ban and police raids
Action to address the situation has included a draft bill currently awaiting parliamentary approval, putting a moratorium on licenses for new tourism rentals in popular neighbourhoods of Seville such as the old town and the historic market district of Triana on the west bank of the Guadalquivir River.
There is a precedent for such limits in the northern Spanish destination of Barcelona, which is set to take things even further and impose a ban on all holiday apartment rentals by 2028. And a toughening stance is also being taken in the Canary Islands, where locals say key workers are forced to live in their cars or in caves, and 35 inspectors backed up by police are helping to raid and crack down on illegal rentals.
