Culture, Education, Science and Community

Tourism. The City Council has inspected 134 apartments suspected of illegal activity.

Inspections were carried out on 134 properties suspected of illegal activity. The operation targeted organised groups that had accumulated a significant number of fines and were operating fraudulently in a large number of properties.

The inspections were carried out by the municipal inspection services, together with the police and the administrative and tax authorities, in order to deal with the numerous offences resulting from illegal activities. These properties are intensively exploited and not only violate administrative and tourism regulations, but are also involved in issues such as tax evasion, tax fraud, the use of false documents and causing nuisance to neighbours.

During the first half of July, 134 properties were inspected in cooperation with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Barcelona’s Guàrdia Urbana and the Labour Inspectorate. Most of these properties are linked to organised networks that operate with rented apartments obtained by fraud against the owners.

Collection of fines

At the same time, reports have been drawn up in collaboration with the Catalan Land Institute (Incasòl), the Barcelona Municipal Tax Office (IMH), the Catalan Tax Agency and the Spanish Tax Agency to collect the tourist tax from all properties found to be involved in illegal tourist activity. Meanwhile, the IMH is also investigating the debts generated by the fines imposed on these fraudulent networks.

As part of the regular activities of the Directorate for Inspection Services, 1,214 inspections have been carried out this year, resulting in 944 orders to cease illegal activities and 491 sanction proceedings being initiated. The aim is to revoke all licences for the more than 10,000 tourist apartments in the city by December 2028 and return them to residential use for local residents.