There is no doubt that tenant behavior poses significant challenges in many residential communities. Property owners often find themselves dealing with unfamiliar individuals, who are usually tenants, relatives, or friends of other owners.

To maintain some level of control over who enters the community and utilizes communal facilities, communities attempt to implement various measures. However, it is not uncommon for unauthorized individuals, who have no legitimate connection to the community, to gain illegal access and make use of shared amenities, such as the swimming pool.

Each community adopts its own strategies to prevent unauthorized access and monitor rental activity within the complex. However, there is no perfect solution unless the community has specific regulations regarding this matter included in its statutes and benefits from an enclosed perimeter with security personnel monitoring every access point and overseeing activities within the premises to enforce community rules.

Unfortunately, very few communities have the resources to implement such measures. Consequently, it often falls to the president, the administrator, and sometimes even the concierge or the gardener to manage the situation as best they can.

Many property owners request that the president or administrator require landlords to provide copies of rental agreements or documentation proving that the individuals using their properties are relatives or friends who are not paying rent. While the president or administrator may request such documents, it is important to understand that owners are under no legal obligation to provide the community with either a copy of their private lease agreement or a statement certifying that their guests are non-paying acquaintances or family members.

Legally, the only action the community can take is to attempt to obtain information from the Junta de Andalucía regarding properties that are officially registered as tourist accommodations. However, it remains unclear how efficiently such information can be provided by the Junta. Moreover, even if this data is obtained, it would not allow the community to monitor who the specific tenants are at any given time.

Additionally, if a property is not registered with the Junta de Andalucía but is still rented out on a short-term basis, and the owner does not voluntarily disclose this information, the community has no legal recourse to obtain it.

In many cases, property owners who demand stricter oversight from the president or administrator later hold them responsible for the lack of control over tenants and their behavior. However, as previously stated, there is no legal mechanism to compel owners to disclose copies of their rental contracts.

Regrettably, the new law enacted by the Spanish government concerning tourist accommodations fails to address the core issues affecting residential communities. Aside from its poor drafting and lack of clarity, it only seeks to regulate minor concerns related to certain tenants, rather than tackling the issue in its entirety.

As we have discussed in previous articles, this new law only regulates the use of properties as tourist accommodations in accordance with the conditions and requirements established in Decree 28/2016 of the Junta de Andalucía. These regulations only apply to rentals promoted and advertised through conventional tourist channels, such as travel agencies or websites that allow prior reservations.

However, property owners who attract tenants through other means remain unaffected by these regulations, meaning that the underlying problems associated with tenants in residential communities remain unresolved. It is also important to note that long before these modern rental platforms existed, communities already faced similar tenant-related issues every summer. Thus, the situation remains unchanged, and once again, the government has missed an opportunity to address these ongoing problems within residential communities.

In this case, the responsibility cannot be placed on the president or the community administrator, as they are legally constrained in their ability to take action.