From the right to housing to the right to the city or «urban environment», as a compelling reason of general interest to delimit the right to property without expropriating it:

the Ruling of the Constitutional Court 64/2025, of march 13, about the tourist use of dwellings

Abstract

This paper analyzes the Constitutional Court decision number 64/2025, called to constitute a leading case in the field of Administrative Law and especially in the field of urban planning and housing law. The study analyzes the doctrine of the ruling with respect to a Catalan regulation on the tourist use of housing.

The judgment rules on the alleged misuse of the Decree Law, on the possible infringement of the State competence on the bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity (art. 149.1.13 Spanish Constitution) and of the basic legislation on market unity, on the allegation of infringement of local autonomy and on an alleged infringement of the constitutional principles of effective judicial protection, equality and legal certainty.

The judgment rejects all the grounds for appeal and includes a dissenting opinion, which is also analyzed. The analysis concludes with a set of reflections on the impact of the decision on the concept of the right to the city, the tourist use of dwellings, the consideration of the urban planning license to use a dwelling for tourist purposes as a functioning dwelling and by operation and the connection of the perspective of the principle of local autonomy with that of good administration.