Holiday rentals Mallorca – property with the coveted rental licence

NB: The rental department of Minkner & Partner deals exclusively with long-term rental of apartments and houses on Mallorca.
The usual rental period is for one year with the possibility to extend. Now and then, the lease is also coupled with an option to buy or a hire purchase in varying forms. Minkner & Partner does not offer apartments and houses for holiday purposes, i.e. rental for just a few days or weeks.
However, Minkner & Partner always has inquiries from investors who want to buy an apartment or a house on Mallorca, in order to then rent them out and so have a return on their investment. If it is a long-term rental, the reciprocal obligations under the Spanish Lease Law (LAU) and are relatively unproblematic, as the rental experts of Minkner & Partner are always helpful in drafting contracts and can answer all your questions about the long-term rental of Mallorca real estate.
If the buyer wants to let Mallorca properties solely for holiday purposes (short-term rent), the admissibility is governed by the Tourism Act of the Balearic Islands and currently raises a variety of problems. Even under the old version of the tourism law, only real estate with a licence to do so can carry out holiday rental.

Holiday Rentals Mallorca – Licensing

Such licences were only granted for detached houses and townhouses, not for apartments. In other words, the holiday rental of apartments has been illegal in the past. Not only because they did not have a licence, but because the owners usually rented “black” and did not pay income tax, nor did they collect and pay the tourist tax.
In short, the discovery of illegal holiday rental usually resulted in a misdemeanor or criminal procedure. Although the new version of the Tourism Act of September 2017 does in principle describe the possibility of rental licences being granted for apartments, this is also dependent on an assessment of compatibility by the municipalities, which should take place within one year. In principle, no new licences will be issued during this year, neither for apartments nor for houses
In summary: If you want to buy a property for the purpose of holiday rental on Mallorca, then it may only be a detached or semi-detached house or a townhouse, and only one that still has an old rental license.