Visitors to Seville could soon find themselves thirsty after city authorities promised to stop the influx of illegal tourist accommodation in the southern Spanish city by cutting off water supplies.

Rental properties above the first floor must be independent

A review of rental housing in Seville is underway, as announced this week. Owners have been given two years to respond to regulations introduced in 2022 that state that all rental apartments above the first floor must have their own private entrance. But so far, 715 apartments have been found to be in breach of the rules, according to an unnamed Reuters source in the mayor’s office.

The municipality is currently in talks with the landlords already identified, but has announced that it will ask the state water company Emasesa to cut off the water supply to these properties unless the owners terminate the lease or comply with the requirement for independent doors.

Water and housing shortages

The move is not only intended to help alleviate water shortages in drought-stricken Spain, but is also part of a wider package of measures to restrict the supply of tourist rental properties in the Andalusian capital. The same source estimates that up to 7,000 holiday rentals are operating illegally there, and another 8,000 to 9,000 are in good standing.

Since the advent of online booking platforms such as Airbnb, it has become easier to secretly rent out your property for short periods over the past nearly two decades. But with so much of the accommodation supply given over to the lucrative tourism sector rather than the housing market, locals have long complained that they can no longer afford housing.

A total ban and police raids

Measures to resolve the situation include a draft law, currently awaiting parliamentary approval, that would impose a moratorium on licenses to rent new tourist properties in popular areas of Seville, such as the old town and the historic Triana market district on the west bank of the Guadalquivir River.

There is a precedent for such restrictions in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona, ​​​​where they want to go even further and impose a ban on holiday rentals by 2028. The policy is also being tightened in the Canary Islands: According to locals, essential workers there are forced to live in their cars or caves. 35 inspectors there, with the support of the police, are helping to carry out raids and combat illegal rentals.