Eight out of ten Spaniards believe that local councils should implement stricter policies to regulate tourist apartments. 80.1% of citizens support this requirement at a time when access to housing has become one of the main challenges of the legislature, faced with an unstoppable growth in sales prices and, in particular, in rental prices, which is linked in the main cities precisely to the proliferation of these holiday apartments.
In the midst of a debate on how to regulate these accommodations, the Simple Lógica survey for elDiario.es reveals that concern about tourist apartments is transversal and that the majority of voters of the major parties advocate toughening their regulation. The most favorable are, in any case, the progressive voters.
97.6% of Sumar voters are in favour of greater restrictions on these flats, a percentage that drops to 92% in the case of those who voted for the PSOE in the last general election. Among PP voters, there are also more citizens who agree with toughening the legislation on tourist flats, although in this case those who support it are 75.8% of those who voted for Alberto Núñez Feijóo at the polls, compared to 20.7% who reject it. The figure drops in the case of Vox voters, but those who advocate greater regulation also win (56%), compared to those who reject it (38.4%).
Furthermore, a large majority of respondents, 70.9%, believe that mass tourism has a negative impact on the quality of life of residents and on the environment. This is the opinion of 94% of Sumar voters, 80% of PSOE voters, 62% of PP voters (compared to 33% who reject this premise), and 49.2% of Vox voters (compared to 48.1% who are against this statement).
Regarding the way in which these tourist apartments could be restricted, the survey suggests that communities of neighbours should have the option of vetoing this type of accommodation, an option supported by 66.8% of citizens, compared to 28.5% who do not.
Most voters of the main parties consider the measure appropriate, although those of Sumar are in the lead (94.4% of their voters agree), followed by those of PSOE (76.3%), PP (59.9%) and Vox (54.9%). 37.2% of those surveyed who supported the far right in the last general election, 36.2% of PP, 20.1% of socialists and only 4.5% of Sumar are against these communities of neighbours having the power to veto tourist apartments in their buildings.
On Wednesday, the PSOE presented an amendment to the Horizontal Property Law in Congress with the aim of “allowing the decision on whether or not to approve this type of activity within the scope of their communities to be left in the hands of the owners as directly affected parties,” according to the text.
The differences between voters are more evident when respondents are asked whether they agree or not that the economic advantages of tourist rentals for municipalities outweigh the disadvantages of overcrowding. Although the majority of citizens (57.9%) do not share this statement, the gap between left and right becomes more evident when faced with this approach.
The majority of Vox voters (49%) agree that the income generated by tourist apartments compensates for the damage caused by overcrowding, compared to 37.8% of far-right voters who reject this premise and more than 12% who refuse to give their opinion. The data contrast with those referring to PP voters: 51.3% do not agree with the economic impact of tourist apartments, compared to 38% who agree.
On the left, 64.2% of PSOE voters and 87.8% of Sumar voters do not believe that income from tourist apartments compensates residents.
When asked about their own preferences when travelling, the majority of Spaniards (42.4%) opt for a hotel if they can afford it, although 15.9% who could afford this expense prefer other options such as camping, staying with family or friends or a caravan. On the other hand, 13.2% of citizens advocate staying in a tourist apartment even if they can afford a hotel.
13.7% of respondents admit that they always choose the cheapest option when they travel and have to choose accommodation. And 14.8% of the population says that they never go on holiday.
Regarding home ownership, a third of Spaniards (35.5%) say they own more than one home, and more than half (56.4%) say they use that additional flat or house as a second residence.
27.3% of multi-owners choose to use their second or third home for long-term rentals, compared to 6.5% who use it for seasonal or tourist rentals. 10.5% of those surveyed admit that they keep their second or third homes empty, and 6.4% keep them on loan to family or friends.
Source: www.eldiario.es
