Valencia News: March 30 | Tourist Apartment Reckoning, Summer Concerts at Risk & Semana Santa

Tourist apartments and the big city events that attract visitors dominated Valencia news on multiple fronts this week: Protests, fines, new taxes, and a court ruling that will be felt across the city. It was also a weekend of political protests, even as the city prepares for Easter and Semana Santa.

The Big Story

Valencia’s tourist apartment reckoning

Valencia’s long-running tourist apartment debate moved from policy discussion to street protest and courtroom precedent. In Russafa, hundreds of residents formed a human chain against what they called a “tourist tsunami”. The neighbourhood that has shifted from working-class immigrant community to one of the city’s most sought-after districts, and is now being reshaped again by short-term rental platforms. In Botànic, a similar story: 100 tourist apartments, four tourist apartment blocks, and two hotels have arrived in a neighbourhood that until recently had little of either.

At the same time, a Valencia court upheld the first €10,000 fine against an unlicensed tourist apartment operator. It’s a ruling that signals enforcement is moving beyond mere warnings. The city also confirmed that a new garbage tax, calculated on water consumption, will begin arriving in April. Opposition party Compromís proposed that tourist apartments should pay a higher rate than regular homes, given their higher guest turnover and waste output.

Sources:
Una cadena humana rechaza la colmena de pisos turísticos en Russafa y planta cara al “tsunami turistificador” — Valencia Plaza
El barrio el Botànic vive una explosión turística: 100 apartamentos, cuatro bloques de pisos turísticos y dos hoteles — Levante-EMV
Una sentencia pionera avala la multa al dueño de un apartamento turístico sin licencia en Valencia — ABC
El Ayuntamiento de València empezará a notificar y cobrar la nueva tasa de basuras a partir de abril — Valencia Plaza

City & Housing

Renters get new protections — but landlords may be heading for the exit

The Spanish government is proposing to allow tenants a two-year extension on rental contracts and cap rent increases at 2%. It’s part of a broader package of economic relief measures tied to the pressures of the Iran war. The measure has not yet passed a congressional vote and must do so within 30 days.

A counter-argument arrived in the same week: a national study claimed that more than a third of long-term rental contracts expiring in the next year will not be renewed, as landlords respond to rent cap policies by withdrawing properties from the market entirely. The two stories together frame a housing policy debate with no easy answers.

Sources:
Los inquilinos podrán pedir una prórroga de dos años en su contrato de alquiler sin que el propietario pueda impedirlo — Las Provincias
España va a perder más de un tercio de los contratos de alquiler que vencen en un año — El Mundo

Plans to extend Turia Park to the sea

Plans to extend Valencia’s Turia Park all the way to the coast took a more concrete shape this week. Confirmed details include a new Gulliver-style children’s playground, a skatepark, and additional green spaces along the route. The extension is a centrepiece of Mayor Catalá’s urban agenda.

Sources:
El Jardín del Turia de Valencia crecerá hasta el mar con nuevos parques de Gulliver — Valencia Extra

Calle Colon works delayed until summer

The resurfacing and renovation of Calle Colon, originally planned for April, is now postponed until after the Pérez Galdós works are finished. Traffic in the city has increased with multiple street works ongoing. Calle Colon, the city’s major shopping thoroughfare, is long overdue for renovation, with plans to install sound-absorbing asphalt among other improvements.

Sources:
Las obras de la calle Colón se retrasan: Valencia anuncia nueva fecha — Valencia Extra

City & Politics

Oltra returns, Mazón is summoned, and the DANA protests continue

Three political stories defined the week. Mónica Oltra, former deputy president of the Generalitat and leading figure of Compromís, announced she will run for mayor of Valencia in the next municipal election. Valencia Plaza described her return as reshuffling the city’s political landscape. For readers new to Valencian politics, Democrata.es has a useful English-language profile of Oltra and her political position.

Former Generalitat president Carlos Mazón was officially summoned to testify in the court investigation into the management of the November 2024 DANA floods. It will be the first time he has been compelled to appear before a judge, though only as a witness. His parliamentary immunity has so far shielded him from being investigated as a suspect. The monthly protest demanding he resign his parliamentary seat also took place on Saturday, as it has every month since the floods.

At the national level, a cabinet reshuffle saw Arcadi España, a politician from Valencia, appointed as Spain’s new Minister of Finance.

Sources:
Oltra vuelve y rompe el tablero político valenciano — Valencia Plaza
This is Mónica Oltra, the candidate of Compromís for the City Council of Valencia — Democrata.es
Ya es oficial: habrá careo entre la jueza de Catarroja y Carlos Mazón — Valencia Plaza
Una nueva manifestación recorre Valencia para pedir que Mazón deje su acta de diputado por la dana — El País Valencia
Carlos Cuerpo y Arcadi España prometen sus cargos como vicepresidente primero y ministro de Hacienda ante Felipe VI — Valencia Plaza

City & Health

GVA Salut has a new health app that will allow users to have a virtual SIP card, eliminating the need to bring a physical SIP card for pharmacy orders and medical appointments. It also lets users view their medical imaging online.

Source:
Sanidad anuncia novedades con el SIP y explica la nueva forma de recoger los medicamentos en la farmacia — Las Provincias

City & Culture

Disney comes to Valencia and Semana Santa begins

Disney will film its live-action version of Rapunzel, Tangled, at Valencia’s Ciudad de Luz studios, adding to the city’s growing reputation as a film and television production location.

And as the week closed, Palm Sunday marked the start of Semana Santa Marinera — Valencia’s distinctive maritime Holy Week, rooted in the fishing neighbourhoods of the port.

Sources:
Disney rodará ‘Enredados’ en la Comunitat Valenciana — Valencia Plaza
València da el pistoletazo de salida a los días grandes de la Semana Santa Marinera con la procesión del Domingo de Ramos — Levante-EMV

One to watch

Valencia’s summer music season is in legal jeopardy

A court ruling this week found in favour of residents who complained that open-air concerts at the City of Arts and Sciences violated noise ordinances. The immediate casualty is the Gay Games, which has lost its planned Village hub at the venue. But the ruling has wider implications. Several major summer music festivals are already booked at the City of Arts, and it is not yet clear whether they will be permitted to proceed, relocated, or cancelled.

Sources:
Una sentencia pone en jaque la celebración de festivales en la Ciutat de les Arts — Valencia Plaza
Valencia saca los Gay Games de la Ciudad de las Artes tras la sentencia contra los festivales — ABC

Source of the week

Democrata.es – Finding English-language coverage on the twists and turns of Spanish parliamentary politics can be difficult. Democrata fills that gap with accessible reporting on national and regional political developments. This week, there is a useful profile of Mónica Oltra ahead of her return to Valencia’s political stage. For international residents trying to follow the mechanics of Spanish governance without reading Spanish fluently, it is worth bookmarking.

Pont de Valencia Sources

Las Provincias · Valencia Plaza · Levante-EMV · El País Valencia · Valencia Extra · El Mundo · ABC · Democrata.es