Sustainable Tourism Law

COMPETITION LAW VERSUS SPATIAL PLANNING 319 The majority of autonomous community-level regulations affecting the touristic commercialization of residences have established a sworn statement system for granting access to this activity or allowing its practice, or for the installations and physical infrastructures required for this activity to take place, which has required the relevant authorities, as per section 2 of article 17 of Law 20/2013, to ensure the compliance with the principles of necessity and proportionality in order to be able to require the sworn statement. This compliance is affirmed when, in the regulation, it calls for the requirements to be justified by some overriding reason of public interest, and that they be proportional. These overriding reasons, which have been previously referenced, are defined in article 3.11 of law 17/2009, and include the following: public order; public safety; civil protection; public health; the maintenance of the economic stability of the social security system; the protection of rights; the health and safety of consumers, recipients of services and workers; the principles of good faith in commercial transactions; the fight against fraud; the protection of the natural and urban environments; animal health; intellectual and industrial property; the conservation of national historical and cultural heritage; and the objectives of social and cultural policies. When considering these reasons, we can see that some might be affected, either directly or indirectly, by the touristic commercialization of residences, including the public order, the fight against fraud, consumer safety, the protection of natural and urban environments, and the objectives of social and cultural policies. It should be noted that, among these objectives, there could be room for the principles and rights that are fundamental to social and cultural policies, such as the right to a residence free from nuisances, the right to decent housing, sustainable urban development, the social function of the property, and the harmonious coexistence of tourists and residents alike. Thus, for autonomous community-level legislators, when carrying out their duties regarding tourism, the requirement of a sworn statement in order to be able to practice the touristic commercialization of residences can be justified by any of these overriding reasons, as long as they are proportional and motives are provided, even when these reasons are not specifically mentioned in the list included in article 3.11 of law 17/2009. This is in line with the ruling of the Constitutional Court of 22 June 2017, in which the court issued an opinion on whether this closed list of reasons was restrictive to the powers of autonomous communities to take actions regarding the