YOUR VIEWS

According to Andrew Ede in Saturday 10th December Bulletin this Act will in its present form do nothing to regularise the letting of private apartments as holiday lets. Also in that issue you had a very despondent letter from Sally Schofield which indicated that unclear rental guidelines could cause her dream apartment to become a nightmare. There has been further correspondence in support of holiday letting of private apartments mainly from Richard Taylor and indeed the Mayor of Pollenca has come out in favour of unlimited ability to rent out apartments for holiday lets, without any regulation.

As someone who bought an apartment in what was described to us as “a Residential block where holiday letting is not allowed”, I would like to put the other side of the story – the hell that can be caused by these illegal lettings. There are 2 types of lettings- firstly those by locals who can keep an eye on what is going on in their property and secondly those who let through the internet and send the holiday tenant the keys by post. It is this second type that I take most issue with. As I:- 1 End up acting as the landlords unpaid reception desk, answering the most basic of questions such as – where is my apartment, where are the shops/doctors/restaurants/buses, what do I do with my rubbish, how do I work the TV, can you help me with a problem with the apartment.

2I pay to maintain the block and take pride in its appearance and the facilities of the block. Yet from June to September renters hog the pool and its surroundings and expect us to pick up their litter as they are on holiday! They ignore the pool rules which are clearly displayed. You can not tell if non residents are using the pool as renters are always changing. Renters often think it is OK to invite their friends or even just people they have met at the beach to come and use our pool! 3Renters on holiday for a week or 2 are rarely considerate to others in the block and their holiday enjoyment is their only concern. Some see no problem in having 2am drinking sessions on the balcony or coming back noisily from a “merry” evening, giving no thought to residents in the block who may have to get up for work the following morning. You can take it for the odd nights but 3 months or more of this is no joke.

4A renter books an apartment for their needs and then invite friends to join them for a cheap holiday and sleep on a lilo on the floor- thus overcrowding the apartment and overuse of the block's facilities.

In my view what needs to be done with apartment blocks is that they should be classified as holiday or residential blocks and this should be strictly enforced. Then when buying an apartment you know what you can expect, and when you rent you know you will be in a holiday environment. It is surprising how many “renters” turn up at our residential block and are surprised that it is not “Butlins”. To be classified as a holiday block certain standards should have to be met, which gives the holiday maker assurances of quality and facilities.

As for the Mayor of Pollenca, a resort that is suffering. Years ago people would return to this resort faithfully year after year. This does not seem to be the case now as they complain about the state of the footpaths, rubbish lying around, dogs muck.

He is competing against 1st class hotels in 1st class resorts in other parts of the world so needs to get Puerto Pollenca back into that 1st class league again. It is not a lack of accommodation that is causing the downturn in Puerto Pollenca but the lack of tourists. Indeed The some hotel/apartment blocks only opened at the very end of May and closed at the end of September this year. The shortest season I have known for the resort.

Margaret Scott
Puerto Pollenca & Romford