Ecuador will regulate informal rent

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

In order to protect tourist safety and reduce informality in lodging establishments, the Ministry of Tourism (Mintur) seeks to regulate informal accommodation. To do this, it will publish in August 2019 the Regulation of accommodation in real estate for tourist use.

The regulations, which consist of 17 articles, will apply to owners, tenants and property managers and, in addition, to marketers, intermediaries and those who, by any means, promote disseminate or sell lodging offers to domestic and foreign travelers.

 Platforms such as Airbnb or Facebook Market Place will not be regulated, but to those who provide these services. That is, if you own a department and promote it through a newspaper or a social network, you must obtain the permits from the Ministry of Tourism. To do this, you must register with the entity.

The document establishes that in order to continue the tourist activity without inconvenience, the owners of the real estate must have the Tourism Registry and the Single Annual License of Operation (LUAF). Among the prohibitions of the Regulation, it is mentioned that the accommodation service cannot be offered in a part of the property, in a part of the room or have common or shared rooms.

It also prevents intermediation, tourist operation, land transport or guidance activities directly or through hookers and hiring natural or legal persons to carry out intermediation activities informally.

It is also pointed out that the tenants must respect the maximum capacity of the property; comply with the safety requirements set forth in the Regulation; provide facilities for conducting inspections; have the tourism registry as tourism service providers, among other points.

From the publication of the Regulation in the Official Registry, the owners of the property will have three months to register in the Mintur and continue with the process of regularization. The application will be national, except in the province of Galapagos.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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