In San Sebastian new regulations came into force in March 2018 in order to address the great expansion of flats and rooms to let for tourist purposes within residential buildings in San Sebastián, a direct result of the creation of internet platforms such as Airbnb. The aim is to have greater control of urban development, respecting the necessity to protect the environment, the rights of existing residents and to avoid the gentrification of certain areas in the city and so on.
The regulations have been twofold – to impose new conditions on tourist rentals within residential buildings and to create a system of zones in the city. Zone A where holiday lets are saturated, Zone B where there is high demand and Zone C where holiday lettings could be further developed.

Holiday lettings, either by the room or by the entire apartment, are only permitted in buildings that have been designated as residential and comply with all the regulations as such – fire protection, sound proofing etc.
No holiday lets are permitted in housing with public protection or in social housing.

Zone A – no new holiday lets for either entire apartments or by the room are permitted. Those that were registered before the new regulations came into force will not be affected.

Zone B – holiday lets are permitted:

1.- In general:
• on the ground floor if that floor was designated as for residential purposes in the City Urban Plan and council rules for residencial uses, as well as when pre-existing residential accommodation is divided.
• On the first floor with residences with shared access, holiday lets are permitted if, when including its surface area, the sum of non-residential uses, with shared access to the residences, is equal to, or does not exceed 250m², in the entire building
• On higher floors tourist use is only permitted if none of the lower floors are used for, or will be used for residential purposes and when the sum of non-residential uses with shared access to the residences, including the holiday apartment, is equal to, or does not exceed 250m² in the entire building

2.- On higher floors where there are residential floors below, in buildings which have a minimum of seven floors ( Ground + 6), ONE holiday let may be possible on the condition that the sum of non-residential use in a building with shared access to the residences does not exceed 250m². A further one holiday apartment is permitted for each additional 6 floors as long as it is located on one of those 6 floors.

Zone C –
• holiday lets are permitted under the same conditions as in Zone B with the difference that
• Two holiday apartments will be allowed on higher floors where there are residential floors below in buildings which have a minimum of 7 floors – a ground floor and 6 above. A further two holiday apartments are permitted for each additional 6 floors as long as they are located on one of those 6 floors. Only one holiday apartment is allowed per floor. This applies as long as there are no more of 350 sq/meters of non residencial surface area with shared access to the residences in the entire building including holiday lettings or 250 sq/meters excluding the holiday letting.

Conditions for letting by the room are as follows:

• the accommodation must be in the habitual and permanent residence of the person offering the rooms for rent, who must be registered at that address at the city hall (empadronado/a)
• the habitual residence must comprise differentiated areas including at least a living room, kitchen, dining room, double bedroom, bathroom and space for hanging washing or patio
• the area used for letting must not be larger than half the area of the residence nor more than 125²m in the residence or in the whole building
• the area used for letting must have a minimum of one bathroom and one bedroom
Conditions for letting an entire apartment:
• the apartment must have an area of at least 35m²
• the apartment must have its own direct access
• appropriately coloured recipients for recycling must be available in the kitchen along with a sign explaining the colour code and a map indicating the nearest recycling bins