The Administrative Court number 3 of Las Palmas has annulled a resolution of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and has recognized the right of the owners of a tourist villa to the delivery of the inspection book and the complaint forms, a necessary documentation to be able to rent the property for tourist purposes.
In the sentence, dated October 15, 2014, the Court believes that it is “sufficient” the completion of the responsible statement to obtain the requested documentation and the prior administrative authorization referred to by the Cabildo of Lanzarote is not required to rent this villa to tourists. Furthermore, according to the defense of the owners of the property, “this authorization could not be requested because the Canary moratorium was in force”.
The ruling, which can be appealed, states that the rental activity, being a service activity, does not require administrative authorization in application of the European Directive known as Bolkestein and State Law 17/2009.
The lawyers defending the owners, that is, Eileen Izquierdo Lawlor, Mario Izquierdo Lawlor and Jorge de la Cueva Terrer, emphasize the importance of this sentence because the judge even resolves “that there is no doubt about the application in the Canary Islands of the European Directive on Freedom of Services”, before the possibility that these lawyers urge before the European Court a preliminary ruling to determine the application of this directive. “There is no doubt for this judge on the application of the same, hence it is unnecessary to ask for a preliminary ruling, as even the administration recognizes”, the sentence states.
For them, this ruling is a matter of “utmost importance” since it means a “respite” for thousands of owners who rent their homes “under the threat of sanctions”, since it opens up the possibility of legalizing their situation. In addition, “it calls into question the precept of the new Tourism Law of May 2013 which, contrary to the ruling, establishes the need for administrative authorization for all tourist activity in the Canary Islands,” says one of the lawyers.
After this judgment, 13 other judgments have been handed down by the different courts of Las Palmas: numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, all with the same criteria, all of them being final judgments.
News Source: “ lavozdelanzarote.com“.