Benidorm collects 100,000 euro in fines from illegal tourist rentals and continues inspections

Benidorm Town Council has collected 100,000 euro after enforcing fines imposed on four illegal tourist properties. The local authority is continuing its inspection work, according to municipal sources in a statement.

The figures were shared by the Councillor for Commerce, Javi Jordá, marking one year since the local council assumed the powers of inspection and sanction over this type of property.

Jordá explained that during this period, 70 complaints affecting 196 properties have been received. Of these, 107 possessed the tourist accommodation registration issued by the Generalitat Valenciana, meaning they are operating legally. Regarding the remaining 89 properties, 73 are currently undergoing inspection and the other 16 have been proposed for a fine.

Specifically, among those 16 proposed fines, four have already been settled, resulting in a payment of just over 100,000 euro into the municipal coffers. In all four cases, the proposed fine was 50,001 euro, an amount that was reduced by half due to acceptance and early payment by the offending individuals or companies. The other 12 proposed fines remain open and are in the stage of response, appeal, or submission of documentation.

The councillor stressed that these files take time to process to ensure and guarantee a correct inspection and to offer all legal guarantees to the parties involved, noting that they can drag on for months. However, he highlighted that the first results of this control and inspection work are already being seen.

According to municipal sources, once the town council receives a complaint from an individual or a community of property owners regarding the possible existence of properties operating as tourist rentals without the necessary licences, the Local Police carry out the on-site inspection, whilst the Department of Commerce is responsible for instructing and processing the corresponding file.

Every three months, the town council must inform the Generalitat Valenciana of the results of this control and inspection work. The latest report, issued on 30th June, has already been sent to the regional authority, although it only includes one of the four fines already collected, as the other three were paid in July and will consequently be reflected in the next quarter.

Jordá stated that the town council assumed the inspection and sanctioning powers based on Decree Law 9/2024, of 2 August, promoted by the government of the Generalitat Valenciana, which modified the Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Law of the Botànic.

He added that the initial law, introduced by the PSOE and Compromís, led to an increase in tourist accommodation in Benidorm by treating them as residential use, whilst also preventing town councils from exercising sanctioning and collection procedures.

As a result, it was not until the modification driven by the Generalitat, governed by the Partido Popular, that local administrations were given the opportunity to also assume the power to collect potential fines, thereby increasing their resources and income, the councillor maintained.