Ms. M. has been fined EUR 10,000 by the tourism authority for violating Article 105(g) of Law 08/2012 of 19 July 2012. She was accused of continuing to advertise her property on TripAdvisor after having it removed from the tourist rental registry.
She defended herself against this in the present proceedings. Ms M argues that she has no longer been responsible for the vacation rental since October 9, 2018. The entry of the property in the vacation rental register had been deleted by her. Accordingly, there is no longer any commercial or tourist advertising for the vacation rental. Instead, the property Sold has been removed.
According to the tourism authority, the property continued to be marketed on TripAdvisor for vacation rentals. The responsible tourism authority discovered this and sanctioned Ms. M. in the amount of EUR 10,000.
During the ongoing sanction proceedings, evidence was presented that Ms. M. had done everything in her power to cancel the vacation rental advertisements immediately.
These efforts failed. The vacation rental website continued to place ads. Consequently, the property continued to be advertised for vacation rental without permission. This was also confirmed by the available protocol of the tourism authority.
Art. 77.5 of the LPAC establishes a presumption. According to this, the principle applies that the documents of the officials in the sanction proceedings are deemed to be correct until the contrary is proven.
However, the court referred to a ruling by the Constitutional Court that the presumption of innocence applies in administrative proceedings. An act can only be sanctioned if there is conclusive evidence of a violation and thus the imposition of a sanction. The burden of proof lies with the authority. The person sanctioned is not obliged to prove their innocence.
After taking evidence, the court came to the conclusion that Ms. M. was not the person responsible for placing the advertisements and that the property was not marketed by her for tourism purposes.
The sanction of EUR 10,000 was subsequently lifted.
Author:
Dr. Dominic John Patrick Porta, LL.M.
Attorney at Law (Düsseldorf Bar Association n° 52954)
Abogado (ICAIB n° 6645)
dominic.porta@anwaltmallorca.eu
www.anwaltmallorca.eu
Do you need the assistance of a German lawyer for your vacation rental in Mallorca?
Porta & Associates is a law firm in Palma de Mallorca specializing, among other things, in real estate law in Spain.
Dr. Dominic Porta advises you as a German lawyer in Mallorca on all matters relating to house purchase, renting and licenses. The modern law firm in Palma also represents its clients in corporate law, inheritance law, contract law and tax law.
More information and contact can be found at www.anwaltmallorca.eu
