2025 was a turning point for short-term rentals in Spain. From 1 July 2025 every tourist property must hold a registration number in a new single digital window, and from 3 April 2025 short-term letting requires consent from the community of owners. Airbnb and Booking are removing unregistered listings in the tens of thousands. Below is what changed, how to get a tourist licence by region, and how to let legally under the new rules.
What changed in 2025
Two key changes tightened the short-term rental market:
- From 3 April 2025 — any short-term let (up to 30 days) must be approved by the community of owners (comunidad de propietarios). Owners can no longer decide unilaterally; the community may require a qualified-majority vote.
- From 1 July 2025 — the Ventanilla Única Digital (single digital window) went live: every property must obtain a registration number, without which it cannot legally be listed on Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo.
Mandatory registration: how it works
The single window centralises verification of a property's legality, but it does not replace regional and municipal rules. The registration number is an extra federal layer on top of the old autonomous-community tourist-licence system. The sequence is:
- Obtain the tourist licence of the autonomous community (see the table below).
- Register the property in the single digital window and get a number.
- Display the number in every listing on the platforms.
- Comply with local requirements: insurance, guest register, reporting guest data to the police.
Key fact: platforms must verify the number. No number, and the listing is removed — plus the owner risks fines.
Tourist licences by region
The rules and licence names vary by autonomous community. A guide:
| Region | Name / body | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Valencia / Costa Blanca | Registro de Turismo (VT) | reporting required, VT number in the listing |
| Andalusia / Costa del Sol | RTA (Registro de Turismo de Andalucía) | equipment standards, air-con, complaints book |
| Murcia / Costa Cálida | Registro de empresas turísticas | licence by municipality, moratoria in some centres |
| Catalonia | HUT (Habitatge d'Ús Turístic) | new licences frozen in much of Barcelona |
| Balearics | ETV | strict quotas, high cost of the right |
| Canaries | Registro turístico | restrictions in residential zones |
Timelines, cost and equipment requirements change — before buying "to let", check the current rules for the specific municipality.
Andalusia (Costa del Sol)
The RTA registration is relatively accessible but comes with equipment standards: air-conditioning in summer months, heating in winter, a first-aid kit, guest information and a complaints book. Málaga city has begun restricting new licences in saturated districts, so verify the specific neighbourhood.
Catalonia (Barcelona & Costa Brava)
The strictest mainland regime. Barcelona froze new HUT licences years ago and has announced plans to phase out existing tourist-flat licences entirely by the end of the decade — a warning to anyone banking on short-let income there. The Costa Brava municipalities set their own quotas.
Valencia (Costa Blanca)
You need the VT registration plus, since 2024, a compatibility report from the town hall and, increasingly, community-of-owners consent. Some municipalities have paused new licences. The Costa Blanca still has areas with a lighter regime than Barcelona or Palma.
Balearics (Mallorca, Ibiza)
The ETV system runs on hard quotas — the right to let is a scarce, expensive, tradeable asset, and buying a flat does not guarantee you can obtain one. Some interior and rural licences are frozen. Assume you are buying the licence, not just the property.
Canary Islands
Registration is required and residential zones increasingly bar tourist use; a 2025 regional law tightens rules further. Check the island and the specific building before you buy to let.
Key fact: the licence is attached to the property and the municipality — a home in a building whose statutes forbid tourist letting can never obtain one, however you register nationally.
Why Spain is "blocking" Airbnb
The government links short-term tourist lets to housing shortages and rising rents in cities and coastal hotspots. In 2025, authorities ordered tens of thousands of non-compliant listings removed. The aim is to return some housing to long-term residents and to enforce registration, licensing and community consent. It is not a ban on legitimate, licensed rentals — it is tighter control.
Taxation of rental income
Whatever the let, the income is taxable. A non-resident pays IRNR at 19% (EU/EEA) or 24% (non-EU) on rental income, filed quarterly on Modelo 210. EU/EEA residents may deduct expenses (mortgage interest, IBI, community fees, repairs, depreciation) and are taxed on the net; non-EU owners generally pay on the gross. A licensed, correctly declared tourist let also charges guests tourist tax (eco-tax) in regions like the Balearics and Catalonia, which you collect and remit. See the full picture in the taxes and mortgage guide.
Penalties for letting without a licence
The enforcement teeth are real. Operating an unregistered tourist let, or one without community consent, can trigger:
- Fines from a few thousand to €600,000 in the strictest regions for serious or repeat breaches.
- Removal of the listing by Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo once the national number check fails.
- Orders to cease the activity, plus back-tax and surcharges on undeclared income.
Key fact: the platforms now verify the registration number automatically, so "flying under the radar" is no longer viable — no valid number, no listing.
Long-let vs short-let economics
Short-term tourist letting can gross more per night but carries higher costs and risk: cleaning, management (often 20–25%), voids between guests, licensing hurdles and the new compliance burden. Long-term residential letting yields less headline income but is steadier, cheaper to run and lighter on regulation — and in cities where tourist licences are frozen, it may be the only legal option.
| Factor | Short-let (tourist) | Long-let (residential) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross yield | higher per night | lower but steady |
| Running costs | high (cleaning, management, voids) | low |
| Regulation | licence + registry + community consent | lighter |
| Income stability | seasonal, variable | predictable, year-round |
| Best where | licensed tourist zones | cities, northern Spain |
Long-term letting: the 2026 law
Separately from tourist lets, long-term residential rent is also changing: rent increases are no longer tied to the traditional CPI. Instead, an annual cap set by a specific reference index applies — typically around 3% — to protect tenants from sharp hikes. In designated stressed-market areas (zonas tensionadas), additional caps on the starting rent can apply to large landlords. For an investor, this means more predictable but capped growth in long-term rental income.
Checking a tourist licence before you buy
If a listing or seller claims a property "has a licence", verify it — do not take their word. Each region runs an online register where you can look up the VT / RTA / HUT / ETV number, and your lawyer will confirm during due diligence that the number is valid, matches the address and is not suspended. Just as important, read the community-of-owners statutes: a valid regional licence is worthless if the building's own rules ban tourist letting, and post-April-2025 you also need the community's consent. Buying a property that already holds a transferable licence in a building that permits letting is now a genuine premium — it is often the single biggest value driver in a short-let purchase.
How to let legally: a checklist
- Check the community statutes before you even buy — is tourist letting allowed in this building?
- Obtain the tourist licence of the autonomous community.
- Register in the single digital window and quote the number in every listing.
- Take out civil-liability insurance.
- Report guest data to the police (parte de viajeros).
- Pay the rental income tax correctly — 19% (EU) / 24% (non-EU), see the taxes guide.
Registration: the documents you need
To obtain the national registration number in the single digital window, have these ready: the regional tourist licence (or confirmation the property qualifies), the cadastral reference, proof of ownership (nota simple / escritura), the community-of-owners consent where required after April 2025, and your NIE. The platforms then verify the number against the register before your listing can go live. Because the national window sits on top of the regional system, skipping the autonomous-community licence is not an option — the federal number does not replace it. Budget a few weeks for the full chain and factor licence costs (which vary widely by region) into your yield sums.
Strategy for the investor
Tighter rules raise the value of properties with a licence already in place and in buildings where letting is permitted by the statutes. New-builds in tourist zones designed for letting, and properties in regions with a lighter regime (parts of the Costa Blanca, Murcia), look more attractive than the overheated centres of Barcelona and Palma. Also consider long-term letting as a steadier model, and take a look at Northern Spain, where local tenant demand is stable year-round.
What happens next
Before buying "to let", check the community statutes and the regional licence, calculate the net yield after taxes with the ROI calculator, and review yield by area. Need help finding a property where letting is legal — send a request.