130 TOURISM LAW IN EUROPE If the owner of a summerhouse wants to rent out 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 considered a business activity, the letting must have a professional character, but it does not necessarily need to be the main line of income11. Based on case law, the Minister of Trade answered some formal questions from a politician regarding the relevant elements to evaluate if a letting activity is a business12. In order to establish whether an activity is a business or a private activity, the Minister mentioned the extent of the owner’s own use, the duration of the letting, the size of the rental and the number of houses owned and rented out, along with their geographical interrelationship, the purpose of the purchase of the house and, generally speaking, the collective circumstances regarding the letting. If the letting activity is regarded as a business activity, the Ministry of Environment will grant the permission under the considerations for the preservation of nature, tourism, business and employment interests, along with considerations on traffic and sanitary implications13. 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 winter months (identified as 1 November to the last day of February)14, the period of letting can only be “short” for each reservation (“short” is defined as four 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 nine weeks16. After nine weeks, there has to be a break of at least one week. The limit 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 om ændring 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 planlægning, lov om naturbeskyttelse og lov om aktindsigt i miljøoplysninger) (preparatory work of proposed law of the suggested changes of Law amending the Law on Planning, etc.).
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