The landmark ruling closed 10 tourist flats in one of Spain’s top tourist destinations because guests’ loud, drunken and destructive behaviour violated the right to privacy of a family in the same block. The ruling could lead to similar cases being brought in future, the lawyer in the case has said.
The family, who have children aged three and six but cannot be named, suffered because tourists were causing vandalism, vomiting and having sex in the block’s communal areas.
The flats on the famous square were told to shut because of the ‘illicit and unsanitary’ behaviour of visitors (Photo: Julian Elliott Photography/ Getty Images)“We have used a specific route, arguing that the family’s right to privacy has been violated,” he told The i Paper.
Locals demonstrate against tourist overcrowding in Barcelona (Photo: Paco Freire/Sopa via Getty)
The ruling, which was made public this week, comes as Spain faces a series of protests over excessive tourism, which critics blame for raising housing prices.
square WORLD Tourist flats now make up a third of houses in Spain's holiday hotspots
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The family contacted Mr Rubio two years ago after all efforts to address the problem with the city council and the owners of the flats had failed.
The judge wrote in her ruling: “The constant noise, the breaking of shared fixtures, filling of the lobby with suitcases at all hours, the presence of shopping trolleys filled with towels and other cleaning items for the multiple tourist-use flats, thus impeding the movements of neighbours have been duly proven and are not isolated incidents.”
The judge ordered the closure of the flats and awarded damages of almost €39,000 (£33,700).
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