Andorra Approves Public Administration Reforms and Inactive HUT Licence Cancellations

The Andorran government has approved four regulations advancing public administration reforms, including measures on job classifications and a new rule allowing the cancellation of tourist-use housing (HUT) licences for properties inactive for 12 consecutive months.

The job classification regulation addresses Batllia court rulings that invalidated the 2023 process in three cases due to the lack of prior rules, while confirming the scores and outcomes. Interior Minister Marc Rossell, overseeing Public Function, said the process will repeat only for those three workers after publication in the BOPA next week. "The procedure is open to those who appealed to the Batllia," he stated during Wednesday's post-Cabinet press conference, emphasizing strict compliance with the ruling, which found procedural flaws but not issues with evaluation criteria or results. Workers will detail their duties, supervisors will verify them, and a technical committee will assess based on competencies and responsibilities, with final government approval set for 15 May 2024. The rule also allows other workers to request reviews under specified conditions. Government spokesperson Guillem Casal noted a prior ministerial order and external PwC advice guided the original method.

The package further updates the organizational committee to give union representatives voice and vote with shorter notice periods; creates a merit-based pool for temporary substitutions, exempting prior qualifiers from reselection; and simplifies performance evaluations (AvAc) to biennial cycles for all post-probation officials. These use individual or collective goals in one cycle, take the higher score on role changes, include special corps, require digital submission, and offer a voluntary bonus from 2026.

A separate regulation, entering force on 17 April to mark one year since the Sustainable Growth and Housing Law's implementation, targets HUTs with no client registrations in the Tourist Accommodation Occupancy Register (ROAT) for 12 months. These will be automatically removed from HUT and management company (EGHUT) registers, though owners can reapply if resuming activity. Casal estimated over 100 such properties currently qualify, describing the measure as administrative housekeeping to boost register reliability, enhance tourism oversight, and free housing for residential use—not a sanction. Since the law entered parliamentary process, 363 HUTs have shifted to residential markets, either via sales or rentals. The Tourism Ministry has opened seven files for improper ROAT data entry and plans stricter checks. Properties entering residential markets could face "empty home" price controls if deemed abusive.

The Tourist Accommodation Business Association (AEAT) supports the rule. President Àlex Ruiz said inactive HUTs likely serve residential purposes, operate illegally, or lack genuine activity, justifying licence revocation. The group is pursuing a separate legal challenge to preserve licences upon property sales, citing 60 affected cases among the 363 transitions.

Public unions, including Sipaag, criticized the job classification rule as overly narrow. Over 60 workers have petitioned for a full reclassification with CTOG oversight, transparent criteria, and uniform grading, calling it a "patch" that favours litigants and erodes equality. They expressed indignation at the limited scope and urged reviews to avoid time bars, threatening further court action if unions are sidelined.