The announcement regarding this second appeal was made yesterday by Habtur's manager, Maria Gibert, and the lawyer Tomás Villatoro of the law firm Ius Aequitas. This firm represented the successful appeal against zoning in the Canary Islands. The Supreme Court annulled holiday rental limits introduced by the government in the Canaries.
The language surrounding this appeal is much as it was when the Palma town hall one was presented. The zoning is "unjust" and creates "first and second class citizens". Villatoro explained that the appeal is on the grounds of violations of the principle of competition, of rights recognised in the European services directive and of constitutional principles such as the right to equality and private property.
He continued by saying that the zoning entails a reduction in the supply of properties for tourism use and a "consolidation" of the hotel sector supply. He referred to negative impacts, such as those felt by local businesses, and rejected the idea that holiday rental has been the cause of an increase in the cost of rented accommodation. The Council of Majorca's regulation, he believed, was "not justified in the general interest".
Gibert added that the Habtur appeals had nothing to do with the case brought against Palma's mayor Antoni Noguera by the national Fevitur federation of holiday rental associations, of which Habtur is a member. Fevitur, she said, had presented its lawsuit without having consulted Habtur.
