Sustainable Tourism Law

324 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW this case, when applying the Services Directive, public powers must ensure that these imposed territorial requirements are in line with the principles of non- -discrimination, necessity due to overriding reasons of public interest, and proportionality. This was recognized in the very important ruling made by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 30 January 2018 (Case C-360/15) Requirements, introduced by the relevant authorities in matters of tourism, that limit rental activities, such as requiring individual gas, electricity and water meters; the need for owners’ boards in apartment buildings to come to an agreement; prohibiting rentals in dwellings that are less than five years old; and limiting sworn statements to five years in multi-family buildings are measures that, in the case of the Balearic Islands, are justified via some established overriding reasons of public interest and thus are not limitations that contradict the law, ensuring market unity. Specifically, requiring individual water, gas and electricity meters is motivated by consumer safety and protecting the environment. Requiring owners’ boards in apartment buildings to come to an agreement is motivated by public order. Prohibiting rentals in dwellings that are less than five years old is motivated by the fight against fraud (and speculation). And limiting the sworn statement to five years in multi-family buildings is motivated by the protection of the urban environment. Without prejudice to this reasoning, all of the aforementioned restrictions can also be justified by arguing that they satisfy the overriding reason related to the objectives of social and cultural policies. Among these social and cultural policies, we can certainly find the right to decent housing, the right to a residence free from nuisances, sustainable urban development, the social function of the property and the harmonious coexistence between tourists and residents. Thus, these restrictions are evidently in line with the important overriding reason of public interest related to the objectives of political and social policies. The Constitutional Court made reference to this point in their ruling of 22 June 2017, in which the court maintained that the closed list of overriding reasons in article 3.11 of law 17/2009 is open enough in its terms to allow for different objectives to be pursued by autonomous communities acting within their own competences. And these objectives, in the case of the Balearic Islands, are reflected in the explanatory statements of Law 6/2017 on the commercialization of vacation rentals in residences.