Seville City Council's Tourism Measure: Water to Be Cut Off for Illegal Vacation Rentals

In the autonomous region of Spain, Seville City Council has decided to cut off the water supply to apartments rented out illegally to tourists. This measure is part of a new plan to distance unwanted visitors due to dissatisfaction with mass tourism. Seville has implemented this action by cutting off water to six illegal vacation rentals, hoping to apply this measure to many more. Water will be restored once these properties are used as residences. The city council has decided to hold responsible the agencies managing these illegal rentals, particularly since many property owners live abroad and are difficult to reach.

"715 Properties Not Complying with Regulations Identified"

Authorities estimate that there are about 5,000 irregular tourist apartments operating in Seville, the capital of Andalusia, either without a license or in violation of regulations. Sources from the city's urban planning department told El Diario that "Among these properties are those registered with the municipality but not complying with the norms, as well as those not registered but operating in the market. We are comparing the data with rental platforms, and the analysis will determine the tourist stress in each neighborhood."

So far, 715 properties not complying with regulations have been identified. Seville has over 9,000 tourist apartments. Seville’s conservative mayor, José Luis Sanz, previously stated: “We will act with zero tolerance towards irregularly operating tourist apartments. After years of ignoring them, we are now implementing more controls and stricter penalties to end illegal apartment rentals in Seville.”