Tourist rental licence in Spain 2026: the three rules non-resident owners must follow

By AmigoFix · May 2026 · 10 min read

If you own a property on the Costa del Sol and plan to rent it on Airbnb, Booking.com, or any short-term platform, the compliance landscape has changed fundamentally since 2024. Three separate layers of regulation now apply to every tourist rental in Andalucía, and failing on any one of them can result in your listing being removed, your licence revoked, or fines reaching tens of thousands of euros.

Most foreign owners are aware they need a VFT licence. Many are not aware that two additional national requirements came into force in 2025, and that a change to Spain's Horizontal Property Law in April 2025 gave their neighbours the power to block their rental activity entirely.

This guide covers all three layers, what they require, and the deadlines that matter right now.

Layer 1: The regional VFT licence (Vivienda con Fines Turísticos)

This is the licence most foreign owners already know about. In Andalucía, any property offered for short-term rental must be registered as a VFT with the Junta de Andalucía under Decreto 28/2016, updated by Decreto 31/2024.

The 2024 update removed the requirement for a Licencia de Primera Ocupación as a prerequisite for registration, but added stricter habitability and safety requirements and created a new "operator-manager" responsibility regime. If you use a property management company to handle bookings and guest access, both you as the owner and the management company carry compliance obligations.

What you need for a VFT application

• The property must meet minimum habitability standards (ventilation, natural light, minimum bedroom sizes)
• A Certificado de Habitabilidad or compliance with the Código Técnico de la Edificación
• First-aid kit, guest information sheets, and complaint forms available in the property
• Proof of ownership (escritura) and your NIE
• The Certificado de Eficiencia Energética (energy performance certificate) must be registered

Processing takes 4 to 8 weeks. The application is submitted through the Junta's online portal entirely in Spanish.

Layer 2: The national NRUA registry

Since 1 July 2025, every short-term rental property in Spain must also be registered in the Número de Registro Único de Arrendamientos (NRUA), a national registry created under Real Decreto 1312/2024. This is separate from and additional to the regional VFT licence.

Without an NRUA number, platforms are legally required to remove your listing. In the first year of operation, the national register rejected over 84,000 tourist lets that were either unlicensed, incorrectly registered, or non-compliant with the new requirements.

What the NRUA requires

• Registration through the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos, Spain's digital rental portal
• Your existing regional licence number (VFT in Andalucía)
• An NRUA reference number is generated, which must be displayed on all platform listings
• Annual compliance confirmation, with a new Annual Informative Declaration filed each February at the Registro de la Propiedad covering the previous year's rental activity

The February declaration is new for 2026, and many owners missed the first deadline in February 2026 because it was not widely publicised. Even owners who had no rental activity during the previous year are technically required to file.

Layer 3: The community-of-owners vote

This is the change that has surprised the most people. On 3 April 2025, Spain's Organic Law 1/2025 reformed the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal. Communities of owners can now restrict or ban tourist rentals with a 3/5 majority vote (previously it required unanimity). They can also impose a 20% surcharge on community fees for units used as holiday rentals.

This means your neighbours can vote against your rental licence at the next annual general meeting. If the community passes such a restriction, new VFT applications from that building will not be granted.

The grandfathering rule

Licences that were registered before 3 April 2025 are protected. They cannot be revoked by a community vote. This has created a two-tier market where pre-April-2025 licensed units are materially more valuable than identical units in the same building that need new community approval to rent. Industry estimates suggest the valuation difference on otherwise identical properties can be 10 to 20%, purely based on whether the licence predates the reform.

If you are buying a property with an existing VFT licence, verify the registration date. If it predates 3 April 2025, it is grandfathered. If it was issued after, check whether the community has passed or is planning to pass a rental restriction.

The guest registration requirement (SES.Hospedajes)

On top of the three structural layers, there is an ongoing operational requirement. Since December 2024, all tourist accommodation operators must report guest data through the SES.Hospedajes system within 24 hours of check-in. This replaces the old Policía Nacional registration form.

The data requirements are extensive: 17 to 21 fields per guest, including passport details, travel dates, and payment information. Non-compliance carries fines under Organic Law 4/2015, starting at several hundred euros per unreported guest.

For non-resident owners who manage their own bookings remotely, the 24-hour reporting window creates a practical problem. If you do not have a local property manager handling check-ins, you need a system to collect and transmit guest data within the legally required timeframe.

What to do if you already own and rent

If you have a VFT licence that predates April 2025, your position is relatively strong. Confirm that your NRUA registration is active, file the February declaration if you have not already, and set up SES.Hospedajes reporting through your property management company or a compliant check-in app.

If your VFT licence is newer or you have not yet applied, check your community's stance on tourist rentals before investing in the application. Attending or being represented at the next community AGM is not optional. A single vote can block your rental plans.

What to do if you are buying with rental income planned

Before you complete, verify three things:

• Is the municipality accepting new VFT applications? (In Málaga city's restricted zones, they are not.)
• Does the community of owners have an existing restriction or has one been proposed?
• If the property comes with an existing VFT licence, when was it registered? Pre-April 2025 is grandfathered. Post-April 2025 is vulnerable to a community vote.

These questions should be answered before you sign the arras contract, not after. The answers change the rental income assumptions that underpin most investment calculations on the Costa del Sol.