Overview
- The regional high court voided the city’s freeze on processing change‑of‑use licenses for homes to become tourist apartments, ruling the measure had no legal basis when approved in May 2024.
- The judges left in place the halt on building permits for new hotel‑type uses, saying the city showed it was needed to protect housing access and urban order.
- The panel found Valencia relied on article 68.1 of the land‑use law as it then stood, which did not allow suspending license processing, and said later December 2024 reforms could not be applied retroactively.
- The ruling is not final and can be appealed to Spain’s Supreme Court, and city officials say they are weighing that step and point to a tougher zoning change passed in late March that they believe will limit the impact.
- Reactions split quickly as Compromís warned of a legal vacuum that could restart license requests, the tourist‑apartment lobby flagged possible indemnity claims of up to €5 million, and neighborhood groups urged the council to appeal.