Spain holiday warning: UK holidaymakers warned as beach bars and hotels could be 'banned' in popular Spanish resorts under new rules

A Spain holiday warning has been issued to UK holidaymakers as beach bars in popular parts of the country could be banned if a new controversial law is approved. The proposed legislation would allow the authorities to seize properties that are either on or close to beaches.

The properties could be homes, shops, bars or restaurants. The law is designed to protect areas of the coastline that are particularly at risk from climate change and rising sea levels. 

Under the proposal, the properties would be "taken" by the government, with some leased back to the owners for 30 years at a time. Reports suggest the 30-year lease could be extended on a case-by-case basis, and there would also be 'concessions' for a maximum of 75 years.

However, once the "concession" ends, the Spanish government will have the power to do what it wants with the properties. This includes knocking them down if they are judged to pose a threat to the coast.

The law is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition in Madrid and would affect homes, bars and hotels located within the "at-risk boundary" of a beach. These areas are described as coastal spots where rocks, promenades, sandy beaches, water and waves converge. It would likely include the most popular resorts in the country. 

The new law has been met with criticism as The Olive Press reports that people could find themselves without anywhere to live as they reach retirement age or be unable to leave their children their family property. Once the draft of the new law is complete, it will undergo a public consultation before Spain's congress makes a final decision.

In November, 100 people including British expats protested against the 'Coastal Law'. They argued that it would effectively confiscate their properties. 

It comes as anti-tourism sentiment is rising in Spain with housing issues being a major source of contention. The words ‘Go Home Tourist’ were written in English over a wall underneath a real estate promotion billboard in Spanish neighbourhood Nou Llevant where most homes were bought by Germans. 

Island newspaper Diario de Mallorca described it as the first example of tourism-phobia in Nou Llevant, and said it was targeted at the neighbourhood’s “new foreign residents.” In the last four years more than 750 apartments worth up to €2.5million (£2 million) have been built there. Around 70 per cent of the properties are said to have been snapped up by foreigners, mainly Germans.

A hotel boss in Majorca has warned that anti-tourist protests could spread to the hotspot due to overtourism. CEO of Blau Hotels, which has two luxury hotels in the east and south coast of Majorca, Joan Pla, claimed that houses built for locals were instead being purchased by foreigners as holiday homes and he "wasn't surprised" by the huge outcry over the amount of tourists coming to the country.