If the owners' association bans holiday lets, does it affect those already operating?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

In Catalonia, the ban only exempts an owner who objected to the resolution when they were already running the holiday let or had all the permits to do so. That is what the “Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña”, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, has held. An owner who was already running one but did not object is bound by it, as is anyone who buys the flat after the ban has been entered in the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry, even if the seller had a licence. In addition, in Barcelona and the other municipalities covered by Catalan Decree-Law 3/2023, all holiday lets will have to obtain planning permission or close when their adaptation period ends, whether or not the ban affects them. What counts as already operating In its judgment of 13 September 2018, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia declared the ban valid, but did not apply it to the owner who already had the tourist authorisation before the resolution and objected to it. The courts have applied that judgment using these criteria: The flat was already operating if it was actually being run as a holiday let, or if its owner had all the necessary authorisations, at the time the ban was approved. Voting against is not enough if, at that time, the flat was not being run as a holiday let and its owner did not have those authorisations. Nor is it enough to apply for the holiday let licence after the resolution, even if only a few weeks later. Objecting means, in principle, voting against at the owners' general meeting or, if you did not attend, objecting in writing within a month of being notified of the resolution. How to rely on it and what happens if the flat is sold If you challenge the resolution, that is, if you ask the judge to annul it or not to apply it to you, you must argue in your claim, from the outset, that you were already running the flat as a holiday let and prove it. Anything not argued in that case cannot be argued later in another, even if you subsequently obtain the licence through the courts. The ban binds the other owners from the moment it is approved, even if it has not yet been registered. Registration protects someone who buys later without knowing about the ban, not someone who was already an owner when it was agreed. Anyone who buys after registration is bound, even if the seller had a holiday let licence. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia said so in its judgment of 24 January 2019. In principle, the position of a seller who objected does not pass to the buyer. Planning permission and the rest of Spain Being outside the ban imposed by the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) does not exempt you from the planning rules. In the municipalities covered by Catalan Decree-Law 3/2023, holiday lets that were already operating have five years to obtain planning permission or cease the activity. In Barcelona, that period ends in November 2028, unless an extension is granted. The “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, upheld that decree-law in its judgment 64/2025 and held that there is no acquired right to keep the activity going for ever. How the ban is approved and when Barcelona's licences come to an end are explained in the questions on whether the owners' association can ban a holiday let and on the end of holiday let licences in Barcelona. In the rest of Spain, the Horizontal Property Act (“Ley de Propiedad Horizontal”) states that such resolutions do not have retroactive effect. In principle, they do not affect holiday lets that were already operating lawfully when they were approved, even if their owner did not object.