Horizontal Property

The Supreme Court (TS) validates the community agreements adopted in a meeting by a reinforced majority that prohibit the tourist use of homes, even before the recent legal reform of 2025.

In this specific case, in a community of property owners it was decided to expressly prohibit the use of one of the homes as a tourist apartment. Some neighbors opposed and took the matter to court, arguing that the law only allows to limit or regulate tourist activity, but not to prohibit it completely. In the first instance, the court ruled in their favor and annulled the community prohibition.

However, the Provincial Court reversed that decision and the TS, ultimately, also dismissed the appeal of the owners who were against the agreement. The TS clarifies that its doctrine already allowed the neighborhood association to decide if they wanted to prohibit this type of rentals, as long as the sufficient support (reinforced majority) is obtained, and this criterion is the one that, subsequently, the legislator has expressly included in the reform of the Horizontal Property Law of 2025. Thus, although the law, until now, spoke of "limiting" or "conditioning", the judges have deemed valid that this also includes the possibility of prohibiting when the qualified majority of owners so decides.

In short, if in your community there are debates about tourist rentals, know that the prohibition is valid if properly agreed, as confirmed by the TS.