More controls against illegal holiday rentals – enough or just window dressing?

More controls against illegal holiday rentals – enough or just window dressing?

Budget boost, additional forces – and many unanswered questions

The raw numbers are clear: For the coming year the budget for measures against unauthorised holiday rentals in Mallorca has been increased by around 21 percent, to approximately €20.6 million. According to the budget, 23 new positions will be created specifically to carry out inspections and impose sanctions. That sounds like a tough stance against the black market – but is more money and personnel alone enough?

Key question: Can inspections that rely mainly on more staff and fines really solve the problem of illegal rentals, or do they simply shift displacement and create new bureaucratic hurdles for those affected?

Critical analysis: More inspections are important, no question. But their effectiveness depends on several practical points. First: the legal situation is complicated. Some cases are clearly illegal, while in others owners, managers and holidaymakers dispute specifics such as minimum stays or shared use of a dwelling. Second: platforms and intermediaries quickly move to new channels – private chats, closed groups or international sites that are difficult for local authorities to access. Third: sanctions only work if they are enforced consistently, quickly and publicly. Labeling a listing with a fine does little if the penalty only takes effect months later after appeals and court proceedings.

What is missing from the public debate: The discussion often narrows to inspections as an end in themselves. Rarely heard are residents who have complained for years about constant key handovers, early-morning noise or piles of rubbish. The owners' side is also too rarely given a larger role: there are small landlords who comply with the rules and suffer under the same regulations as those who deliberately circumvent them. And above all: the link between short-term rentals, rising housing costs and the shortage of long-term rental housing is usually only hinted at in headlines, not concretely tied to measures.

Everyday scene from Palma to Cala Major: A Tuesday morning in the old town. On the Plaça del Mercat a concierge leaves a message for the building management: "Tourists again, loud until 4am on Friday." In front of the café on Carrer de Sant Feliu a delivery van parks, two men carry suitcases into a building with no doorbell nameplate. In a neighbouring apartment the water bill is conspicuously high. Many inspections start this way: with a tip-off, a surprising look at consumption data or the observation that doors are opened more often than usual. These small threads lead to larger networks of illegal rentals – but they require a taste for detective work and quick coordination between departments.

Concrete solutions that deliver more than just additional staff:

1) Create data interfaces: Binding cooperation with booking platforms so that listings, periods and host data are automatically reported to the island authority. APIs, not paperwork.

2) Use consumption data: Matching water and electricity usage with reported occupancy numbers can quickly provide leads. Mobile teams should have rapid access to such datasets, of course in a legally secure and data-protection-compliant way.

3) Fast administrative procedures: Administrative processes must be organised so that infractions can be sanctioned within a few weeks. Lengthy appeal processes dilute deterrence.

4) Clear sanctions plus alternatives: Harsher fines for commercial illegal landlords, but also incentives to convert properties to long-term housing – for example tax relief or subsidies for reclassification.

5) Local contact persons: Mandatory for towns and municipalities to appoint a local contact. Neighbours must know whom to turn to when key tours take place at night.

6) Preventive information: Easily accessible information for owners about the legal situation, obligations to neighbours and registration procedures. Many infringements occur out of ignorance or because of opaque intermediary structures.

Another point: Additional staff alone will not solve the problem if the new positions are occupied with administrative tasks instead of fieldwork. The 23 extra posts should be prioritised for mobile inspectors, data specialists and legal fast-trackers – not as new desk jobs that process forms.

Conclusion: The budget increase is more than a symbol; it can have an impact if used wisely. Without technical interfaces, faster administrative routes and a link to housing and tax policy, the measure remains half-hearted. There are plenty of clues on Mallorca's streets about where the problems lie – the challenge is to bring those clues together and turn them into concrete, rapid measures. Otherwise the budget increase will mostly leave behind a good press photo and another case of bureaucratic duplication of work.