Turning a Dénia holiday let into a year-round home

In August 2026 Dénia approved an ordinance on tourist lets. In the historic quarters (Les Roques, Baix la Mar, Loreto, Sant Pere and the Raset) the number of holiday lets is capped; in ordinary residential areas only a token share is allowed; in the Montgó, Les Marines and Les Rotes there is no restriction. Some owners in the old town will be thinking about what else to do with a property that used to take guests every week.

Whatever the reason, when a holiday let becomes a long let or your own home, the keys deserve a moment’s thought.

The problem with a holiday let’s keys

Over a few seasons, the keys to a holiday let pass through a surprising number of hands:

• guests, some of whom went home with a set;
• cleaners and laundry services;
• the management agency, and perhaps a previous agency;
• maintenance people let in on their own;
• a neighbour who helped out once.

Add a key box by the door whose code may have been shared well beyond the people who needed it.

For short stays that is an accepted risk. For somebody living there all year, or for a tenant who expects to be the only one with a key, it is not.

What to do

1. Change the cylinder on every outside door. Front door, back door, and any gate or garage that leads into the house. It is the only way to be sure the keys in circulation stop working.
2. Take the key box down, or at least change its code. If it stays for a tenant’s convenience, the code should be theirs.
3. Hand over every new key and write down how many. A tenant should sign for them; it saves arguments later.
4. Check the sliders and windows. Holiday lets see a lot of hard use. A terrace door that no longer locks properly was a nuisance before; for a permanent resident it is a gap.

When to do it

On the day the last guest leaves and before anybody moves in. It is a booked job, not an emergency, so there is no reason to pay night rates for it.