Mijas paperwork fix helps over 1,300 homes so far to register for tourism rentals

The local council issues substitute certificates to those who don’t have the right documents to sign up with the Junta as a self-catering property

Ivan Gelibter

Friday, 23 June 2017, 11:10

The local authority in Mijas has been explaining the success of its efforts to help residents who want to rent out their properties to tourists but have been unable to do so due to a bureaucratic trap.

New legislation introduced by the Junta de Andalucía regional government last year requires owners of private holiday accommodation to register with the Junta. The move aimed to improve standards, bringing the self-catering sector in line with hotels.

However many Mijas residents who wish to rent to holidaymakers have been unable to sign up on the register as they have been missing a key piece of paperwork.

The new Andalucía-wide law requires them to present their first- occupancy licence - the official document that says that a property can legally be lived in once finished.

As many homes in Mijas, as in other areas, dont have a formal, written licence, the council has spent the last year issuing equivalent documentation allowing the owners to go on and register with the Junta and rent out to tourists.

Local town-planning councillor, Andrés Ruiz, said on Monday, There are many homes in Mijas that dont have a formal first- occupancy licence. Some because they are very old - as these documents werent issued in the past and they didnt have them to begin with - and others because the paperwork has been lost. What we have done is make available an equally-valid legal certificate so that those affected can rent out their homes to tourists.

The council started issuing fit-for-habitation certificates (certificados de habitabilidad)a year ago and Ruiz says that this has helped make it easier for self-catering accommodation spread across 1,355 properties to be registered with the Junta.

The councillor added that this alternative certificate was for homes for residential use in urban areas, as rural properties have different rules.

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