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costa-brava
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Post by costa-brava »

It is little wonder that people find it difficult to differentiate the various types of holiday accommodation in Spain. There are so many different factors that play into the mix. I have chosen, as an example, a complete little hamlet or village in Galicia. You can buy the lot for €260,000 and it comes with thousands of square metres of beautiful countryside. It's RUSTIC. That's what the advert says. But not in Spanish it isn't; well not quite.
Most of the land will be categorised as "rustico" meaning that you can't build on it. But the village itself is considered to be "rural".
There are thousands of villages around Spain that have been abandoned, in part or in whole. Going back before my arrival in Spain (1986) the government set in motion a system whereby this "rural" property could be exploited for tourism and lots of the usual regulations were substantially lightened. So you now get "casas Rurales" (little hotels or guesthouses) and "viviendas rurales" (private houses or apartments that ought to be used for people living in).
If you have a "casa rural" it is a commercial business and you must register as such and also affiliate with the department of social security (autonomo en seguridad social). Or you can form a limited company. On the other hand a "vivienda rural de uso turistico" is not a business and it is declared for tax in a completely different way, as earnings gained from property that you own.
Many owners in LMH have some of these properties and have helped to create a vibrant section of tourism that attracts many visitors to Spain. And those who have been here for years know the distinctions.
But you if you are more recently arrived you have to bear in mind the distinction between "rural" and "rustico" and even more important between "casa rural" and "vivienda rural de uso turistico"
Anyway here is the advert I picked to highlight the reason why the idea of "rural" came to be.
https://www.galicianrustic.com/en/produ ... rtiguiera/