Tourism Law in Europe

4 If an owner of a summerhouse wants to rent the house, he/she can do this without a permit as long as the activity is not regarded as a business activity. In order to be regarded as a business activity the letting must have a professional character but does not necessarily need to be the main line of income. 11 On the basis of case law, the Minister of Trade answered some formal questions from a politician regarding the elements relevant for evaluating if a letting activity is a business. 12 In order to establish whether an activity is a business or private activity, the Minister mentioned the extend of the owner’s own use, the extent of the letting, the size of the rental, the number of houses owned and rented out along with their geographical interrelationship, the purpose of the purchase of the house and all in all the collected circumstances regarding the letting. If the letting activity is regarded as a business activity, the Ministry of Environment will grant the permission under the consideration of preservation of nature, tourism, business – and employment interests along with considerations on traffic and sanitary implications. 13 Owners of summerhouses also have to comply with the Danish Planning Act, Article 40 which regulates the periods of the letting. In the summer time there are no limits or restrictions but according to Article 40, 1, in the months of winter (identified as November 1 to ultimo February) 14 , the period of letting can only be ‘short’ for each reservation (‘short’ is defined as 4 weeks) 15 . In addition, according to Article 40,3, a continuous letting period during the winter months consisting of several short reservations must not exceed 9 weeks. 16 After 9 weeks, there has to be a break of at 11 Forslag til lov om ændring af lov om sommerhuse og campering m.v., lov om midlertidig regulering af boligforholdene og byggeloven LFF 2019-02-27 nr. 188 section 1 (Proposal of Law amending the Law on Summerhouses etc.). In one of the few criminal court cases in this area, TfK2017.940V from the Western Regional Court, there was little doubt about the professional character. A married couple had rented out 18 summerhouses from 2005-2012 and was fined. 12 Besvarelse af spørgsmål 110 alm. del stillet af udvalget den 7. februar, 2020 efter ønske fra Torsten Schack Petersen (V) – Erhvervsministeren til Folketingets Erhvervsudvalg (Answer from the Minister of Trade and Industry to the Parliament Trade Committee) 13 Lovbekendtgørelse 2013-07-03 nr. 949 om udlejning af fast ejendom til ferie- og fritidsformål m.v. og campering m.v. med efterfølgende ændringer, § 2 (Consolidated Law of Letting of Property for the Purposes of Holiday and Leisure etc.). 14 Lov 2017-06-08 nr. 668 omændring af lov om planlægning, lov om naturbeskyttelse og lov om aktindsigt i miljøoplysninger (Law amending the Law on Planning etc.). 15 Stated in the regional court case U.2002.1632.V (3-4 weeks) and later fixed at 4 weeks in the preparatory work of Lov 2017-06-08 nr. 668 om ændring af lov om planlægning, lov om naturbeskyttelse og lov om aktindsigt i miljøoplysninger (Law amending the Law on Planning etc.). 16 Betænkning over LFF 2017-01-25 nr. 121 Ændring af lov om planlægning, lov om naturbeskyttelse og lov om aktindsigt i miljøoplysninger no. 52 (forslag til Lov 2017-06-08 nr. 668 om ændring af lov om