Plan RESIDE de Almeida: protección de la vivienda habitual y regulación de apartamentos turísticos.

Sanz, Almeida, and Carabante at the press conference after the Government Council

The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, presented on Thursday, at the press conference after the Government Council, the RESIDE Plan for the protection of the residential area of Madrid. The text that makes it up will replace the current Housing Plan (PEH) 2019 for being ineffective in stopping the loss of residential housing in the city and the proliferation of tourist apartments. As the Madrid councilor pointed out, the RESIDE Plan, promoted by the Department of Urbanism, Environment, and Mobility, focuses on three objectives: stopping the loss of population in the city center and expanding the residential offer, organizing the tourist offer, and improving coexistence between residents and visitors.

Madrid is opting for a model where tourist apartments coexist with other types of accommodation, while protecting residents from the effects of sharing space in the same building. For this reason, the RESIDE Plan will not allow the operation of tourist apartments in residential buildings, opting for their concentration in blocks dedicated entirely to tourist activity.

The perimeter separating the two regulated areas

The City Council simplifies the regulation. While the PEH governed three rings, the RESIDE Plan acts in two zones: the historic center – where the presence of tourist housing is greater and therefore the loss of residential properties is even greater – and the rest of the city.

The obligations included for the historic center are limited to the following routes:

• Bulevar Reina Victoria.
• Glorieta de los Cuatro Caminos.
• Calle Raimundo Fernández Villaverde.
• Calle Joaquín Costa.
• Plaza de la República Argentina.
• Rotonda López de Hoyos.
• Rotonda Francisco Silvela.
• Plaza Manuel Becerra.
• Calle Doctor Esquerdo.
• Calle Pedro Bosch.
• Calle Garaje.
• Calle Téllez.
• Calle del Comercio.
• Bulevar de la Ciudad de Barcelona.
• Calle Méndez Álvaro.
• Calle General Lacy hasta Ramírez de Prado.
• Calle Tomás Bretón.
• Calle Juana Doña.
• Calle Juan de Vera.
• The eastern limit of the plot of the Yeserías Penitentiary Center.
• Calle Alejandro Ferrant.
• The western and southern limit of the plot related to Calle Embajadores, 173.
• Calle Embajador.
• The Italian market.
• Plaza del Molino.
• Plaza de Legazpi.
• Calle Maestro Arbós.
• Avenida del Manzanares sur until Pasaje de Montserrat.
• Madrid Río Park.
• Marqués de Vadillo Glorieta.
• Bulevar Manzanares.
• Calle Puente de San Isidro.
• Bulevar Manzanares.
• Paseo de la Ermita del Santo.
• Rotonda del Puente de Segovia.
• Paseo del Marqués de Monistrol.
• Lower path of Virgen del Puerto.
• San Vicente Glorieta.
• Cerro San Vicente.
• Paseo del Rey.
• Calle Rosaleda.
• Calle Francisco y Jacinto Alcántara.
• Calle Camoens y Valero.
• Mirador del Maestro.
• Ruperto Chapi promenade.
• Plaza Cristo Rey.
• The eastern edge of the boulevard. from Arcul Victoriei to Calle Isaac Peral.
• Calle Isaac Peral.
• Paseo de San Francisco de Sales.
• Calle de Guzmán el Bueno hasta Avda. Reina Victoria.

Within this perimeter, the RESIDE Plan establishes the following guidelines:

1. To protect residential use:

• a) Tourist apartments dispersed in residential buildings are prohibited, even on the ground floor.
• b) Tourist apartments are allowed without limitations in non-residential buildings.
• c) In a residential building located on a non-tertiary street, a change to tourist apartments in an exclusive building will only be allowed for a period of 15 years, with a direct license related to the rehabilitation and restoration of the building. Subsequently, it will return to residential use.

2. To recover residential use:

• a) The City will offer urban advantages for the transformation of tertiary use buildings to residential, with incentives such as an increase in existing building capacity.
• b) The conversion of private, cataloged, and obsolete facilities to affordable rental housing and/or coexistence will be allowed. This change will only be permitted in protected buildings, through a special protection plan that ensures their restoration and rehabilitation. Currently, there are 210 buildings with these characteristics in the historic center of the city.

3. To protect local commerce:

The 2019 Housing Plan allowed the implementation of tourist apartments on the ground floor, which led to the disappearance of many neighborhood units in the central area because tourist housing activity is more profitable, causing a reduction in commerce that caters to residents. From 2015 to 2024, 3,306 places were converted into houses and/or tourist apartments in Madrid.

The RESIDE plan does not allow the transformation of commercial spaces into tourist apartments in the historic center and the transformation of spaces into homes on the main tertiary roads.

In this regard, outside the historic center, the transformation of spaces into houses and tourist apartments is prohibited on the following tertiary roads:

• Bravo Murillo, from Conde de Serrallo to Cuatro Caminos roundabout.
• López de Hoyos, from Príncipe de Vergara to Clara del Rey.
• Clara del Rey, from padre Xifré to López de Hoyos.
• Cartagena, from Avenida de América to Francisco Silvela.
• Alcalá, from Santa Leonor to Plaza Manuel Becerra.
• Sepúlveda, from Pradales to Costanilla de los Olivos.
• Puerto de Canfranc, from Sierra Toledana to Bulevar de la Albufera.
• Calle de la Oca, from Ejército roundabout to General Ricardos.
• Nuestra Señora de Valvanera, from Vía Carpetana to Plaza de Almodóvar.
• Marcelo Usera, from Rafaela Ybarra to Andalucía bridge.
• Puerto Pajares, from Martínez de la Riva to Bulevar de la Albufera.
• Martínez de la Riva, from Santa Julia to Puerto Arbalán.
• Alberto Palacios, from Encarnación del Pino to Plaza Ágata.
• Paseo de Extremadura, from Alfonso Cea to Puente de Segovia.
• Glorieta del General Ricardos, from Marqués de Vadillo to Calle de la Oca.
• Paseo Quince de Mayo, from Julián González to General Ricardos.
• Antonio López, from Marqués de Vadillo roundabout to Andalucía bridge.
• Avenida de Ciudad de Barcelona, from Doctor Esquerdo to M-30.
• Bulevar Albufera, from M-30 to Bulevar Buenos Aires.
• Príncipe de Vergara, from Francisco Silvela to Plaza de República Dominicana.
• Méndez Álvaro, from Carlos V roundabout to M-30.
• Avenida de Córdoba, from the beginning to its extension to M-40.
• Bulevar Entrevías, from the beginning to M-40.
• Avenida San Diego, from Avenida Monte Igueldo to Martínez de la Riva.
• Avenida Monte Igueldo, from Avenida de la Albufera to Avenida San Diego.
• Camino de Vinateros, from Diego de Valderrábano to Pico de los Artilleros.
• Avenida Moratalaz, from Plaza del Corregidor Licenciado Antonio de Mena to Plaza del Encuentro.

Timeline for implementation

The initial approval of the Modification of the General Plan for the approval of the ParMAD will be taken to the Board in December to be subjected to public information for a month (until January). After responding to the proposals, it will be brought to the Plenary for provisional approval in April. Subsequently, the Community of Madrid will review the text for final approval. It is expected that the text will come into effect in August 2025.

A temporary action plan

The Madrid City Council updated the diagnosis of tourist apartments in the city in October. There are 17,360 tourist establishments in Madrid. 92.7% are tourist apartments (16,100). Only 7% are legal (1,131). On April 25, Almeida launched a temporary action plan until the final approval of the RESIDE Plan to balance the city’s real estate market. It includes various actions, including:

• – Temporary suspension of municipal licenses from that date.
• – Strengthening the sanction regime for owners whose properties operate as tourist accommodation (VUT) without authorization from the City Council.
• – Consolidation of the inspection staff by 15%.
• – Publication of an official list of VUTs with a license and their actual location (so far there are only 1,131 licensed apartments in the city).

Temporary suspension of new licenses

Since April 25, licenses for tourist apartments in two types of uses in the territorial scope provided by the Special Accommodation Plan (rings 1, 2, and 3) are «frozen»:

• – For residential use, licenses for dispersed tourist apartments and licenses for the conversion of premises into homes in commercial nodes in the Centro district have been suspended.
• – VUT licenses in buildings other than residential areas located on the ground floor have also been suspended.

Strengthening the sanction regime

The Madrid City Council does not have specific sanctioning regulations for tourist apartments. The procedure followed in the case of detecting the irregular exploitation of a tourist apartment that cannot be legalized was regulated by Law 39/2015 on administrative procedure. Initially, the cessation of activity was ordered; If the owner failed to comply with the municipal order and it was subsequently found that they were operating illegally, fines of 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 euros were applied (from articles 100 to 105).

Since the temporary plan was launched, when the Madrid City Council verifies that a dwelling is intended for tourist use without having the necessary license, it acts under Article 204 of the Law 9/2001, of July 17, on Community Land of Madrid (LSCM). The regional legislation classifies as a serious offense the carrying out of activities incompatible with urban planning. According to this regulation, the City Council follows the following procedure:

• – First notification of the cease and desist order.
• – In case of non-compliance, a firm fine of 30,001 euros.
• – The second firm fine of 60,001 euros if the irregular activity continues.
• – The third firm fine of 100,001 euros if the operation persists.

The fines are cumulative if the violation of the law continues. So far, 183 fines have been imposed totaling 30,000 euros.

Strengthening of inspectors and secure website for VUT users

Another line within this action plan is to reinforce the inspection body. The Subdirectorate General of Inspection and Discipline has 65 workers for all inspection activities. This year, the City Council is increasing its staff by 15%, incorporating ten more people into the service.

Tourist apartments have increased in the city by 50% since 2017. While during this time, 8,162 new tourist homes were registered, 113 tourist units (hotels, inns, etc.) were incorporated, representing an increase of 9.85%. In the Centro district, one tourist is accommodated for every two residents.

The Inspection and Discipline Service received 51% more complaints in 2023 than in 2022 affecting houses and tourist apartments: 686 compared to 454. 82% came from citizens (563). Of the total inspections carried out this year (about 2,000), it was found that 448 homes were dedicated to tourist use. During the same period, the closure of 356 homes was ordered, and the residential use of 221 was resumed.