Holiday rentals: what to check first

Before you register a property with the tourism authorities, check four things: that the community of owners approves it, that the town hall allows it, that the property meets the requirements and, last of all, the registration itself. There is no single compulsory order for the first three, but there is a logical one: if the community does not approve it or the municipality does not allow it, nothing else matters. What is fixed is that registration comes last.

The first four blocks decide whether the property can be let to tourists at all. The last three are the ones that spare you surprises later.

1. Does your community of owners allow it?

If the building has a community of owners. This is not a licence.

• The minutes with the relevant agreement: is there an agreement that expressly approves holiday letting in the building? It may have been adopted at an earlier or extraordinary meeting, not necessarily the last ordinary one.
• The statutes and any other relevant agreements, and whether they are registered at the Land Registry: they can ban, limit or set conditions on the activity.
• Has the meeting agreed to raise the community fees for homes let to tourists?
• If the property was already being let to tourists before 3 April 2025: check that it was registered under the tourism rules, because the transitional regime applies to it.

Since 3 April 2025, to start a new holiday letting activity it is not enough that nobody has banned it: you need the express approval of the owners' meeting, with the vote of three fifths of the owners who also represent three fifths of the participation shares. Activities already running before that date have their own transitional regime.

With that same majority the community can agree to raise the common charges of those apartments by up to 20 per cent. It is not automatic: it needs an agreement. But if it is adopted, it is a recurring cost that completely changes the year's return.

2. Does your town hall allow it?

Each municipality applies its own criteria.

• Does the urban plan allow tourist use at that exact location? The land must be zoned as residential.
• Does the town hall require a municipal licence or a responsible declaration of change of use? Which of the two, and with what deadlines?
• Has the municipality limited or suspended new holiday homes in that area?
• Local bylaws on noise, waste and neighbourliness that affect the letting.

Town halls can limit the activity for reasons of general interest. Estepona, Marbella, Manilva and Casares do not apply the same criteria: what works in one does not automatically work in the next.

3. What requirements must the property meet?

In Andalucía, Decreto 28/2016 (Andalusia's holiday rental rules) and its amendments. They come before registration.

• A valid first occupation licence.
• Direct ventilation to the outside or to a courtyard in bedrooms and living rooms, and a way to darken the windows.
• Air conditioning in bedrooms and living rooms if let in the summer months; heating if let in the winter months.
• Enough furniture and equipment for the declared occupancy.
• Bedding, linen and kitchenware in line with the capacity, plus a spare set.
• A first aid kit.
• Tourist information about the area: transport, medical services, parking, shops and a map of the town.
• Official complaint forms, plus the notice announcing them displayed inside the home.
• A phone number to solve incidents immediately.
• Instructions for appliances and devices.
• Written house rules: pets, smoking, restricted areas and the community's rules.
• Cleaning guaranteed when each guest arrives and leaves.

4. How do you register with the tourism authorities?

In Andalucía. It comes last, once everything above is in place.

• Responsible declaration of start of activity with the Andalusian Tourism Register.
• Type: whole home or by rooms. It changes the requirements and the capacity limits.
• Maximum capacity: for a whole home, up to 15 guests and no more than 4 per bedroom.
• If the property is outside Andalucía, the rules are different and must be checked separately.

When you file the responsible declaration you are stating that the property already meets the requirements of the previous block, and that makes you responsible for what you declare. That is why registration comes last: if any requirement is not met, an inspection can follow, with removal from the register and a fine.

5. Land Registry and planning status

What shows up once you have already signed.

• An up-to-date land registry extract (nota simple): charges, mortgages, seizures and entries.
• Easements and restrictions that affect the use.
• The physical reality, the registry description and the cadastral description should match.
• Unauthorised works or extensions that could block the occupation licence.

6. Tax on the rental income

To review with an adviser before you set the expected return.

• Your tax residence: it decides the tax you pay on the income and the expenses you can deduct.
• Will you offer services typical of the hotel trade (cleaning during the stay, change of linen, reception)? It changes how VAT applies.
• Withholdings, instalment payments and the filing calendar for your case.
• The municipal tourist tax, if the town has one.

The return shown in a listing is always gross. The figure that matters is what is left after taxes, community fees, insurance, maintenance, management and empty months.

7. What is no longer needed

Updated to September 2026.

• The national Single Rental Register number is no longer required. The Supreme Court annulled the procedure in STS 620/2026, de 19 de mayo (a Spanish Supreme Court judgment), for encroaching on regional powers. The related annual return also fell away. Anyone who paid the registry fees can claim them back.
• What is still in force: the regional tourism registers, the platforms' reporting obligations and guest registration and reporting.

This document summarises the rules in force at the date of publication and does not replace legal or tax advice on a specific case. Tourism rules are regional and municipal and change often: always confirm your property's situation before making decisions.