As 2024 came to an end, the Spanish government finally approved new regulations for the official registration of tourist rentals in Spain. 

Although the rules officially came into force on January 2nd 2025, the law establishes a transition period lasting until 1 July 2025 in which all short-term, tourist property owners affected can register in the new system.

The tourist rental register is for all houses and flats that are not rented out as permanent residences, meaning it will affect seasonal rentals, tourist rentals and room rentals. As such, Airbnb properties rented for short-term, tourist purposes will need to be registered.

However, note that the law also clarifies that rentals “without financial remuneration” are not subject to this regulation and won’t have to be registered. Moreover, regional authorities and local councils may establish their own additional inspection and control procedures.

What’s the register for?

It essentially means that in order for a home to be marketed on digital platforms, say on Airbnb or Idealista, it must now appear in a new registry – the so-called ‘lease registration platform’ (Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos in Spanish).

In the past anyone could advertise their properties on online platforms such as Airbnb. There was no one checking if they actually had a tourist licence when it came to advertising online.

This registry will verify that the property meets all the legal requirements to function as a holiday or seasonal rental. If it meets them all, it will be issued with an identification number to be able to advertise online.

The registers will be for all rentals lasting less than one year, which includes tourist apartments, such as Airbnbs, as well as other temporary rentals, rooms and even floating boats.

What do property owners need to do and how long does it take?

Compliance with the law will be monitored through the new state platform and property owners themselves will have to go to be identified and put on the registry. If you want to rent your property, you must be registered.

The Spanish government has stated that there will be a period of around 15 days in which authorities will check if the property complies with all regulations before an ID number is issued. However, with only two weeks to go before the deadline, just 100,000 registrations have been made throughout the country so far, according to data from Spain's Association of Registrars. Reports in the Spanish press suggest this would mean that around 70 percent of total tourist flats in Spain have not yet been registered, with the deadline, July 1st 2025, rapidly approaching.

According to the Association of Registrars, the number of registrations is expected to increase in the last two weeks before the deadline because staff have received specific training to manage the process.

How do I register my property?

Applications for a registration number must be made online or at Colegio de Registradores offices. In theory, this can be done online via electronic certificate, though many foreign property owners either don’t have them or have had trouble accessing the application using them.

The website for the application on the Registradores site can be found here. The organisation has also provided a handy guide for the process, though in Spanish. That's available here.

To request a retal registration number, you need to access the CORPME 'Electronic Office' and follow these steps:

• Fill in the corresponding online form
• Download the PDF of the completed form
• Submit a new application via the online submission service, selecting the type of operation"ASIGNACION DEL NÚMERO DE REGISTRO DE ALQUILER PARA ALQUILERES DE CORTA DURACIÓN", attaching the PDF of the completed form together with the rest of the supporting documentation, 

The supporting documents include:

• The cadastral reference of the property
• Exact address of the accommodation
• Information on the rental model (in other words, an entire property or rooms)

In addition, you must provide the number of people who will be using the property and confirm that you meet the requirements established by each region for providing rental properties.

For the complete information, you can find the Ventanilla Única Digital page on the Spanish government website here.

Which properties are included?

Looking more closely at the law, the wide-ranging regulation includes: “tourist rentals, seasonal rentals, rooms and any other property that is offered for short stays and in exchange for financial remuneration”. This includes complete dwellings, individual rooms and even boats: “they shall also include accommodation on ships, boats or naval vessels,” the text says.

Article 4 of the law details that the properties must comply with the following characteristics: “have a temporary use, such as holiday, work or medical treatment stays and have adequate furnishings and equipment.”

As such, hotels, campsites and any accommodation already regulated under specific tourism regulations are excluded from the database.

Why is the government doing this?

The registry represents the latest bid by the Spanish government to get control of the tourist accommodation sector, in particular its inflationary effect on the Spanish residential rental market. Tourism and housing (and the interplay between the two industries) have become big issues in the country and 2024 was dominated by protests around Spain.

Spain currently has 351,389 tourist properties, representing 1.5 percent of the total number of dwellings in the country. With so many run illegally or unofficially, in reality the number is likely far higher.

These properties offer almost two million accommodation places (1.99 million), with an average of 5.3 places per unit. Andalusia and Valencia are the regions with the highest number of tourist rentals, with 88,435 and 71,186 accommodations, respectively.

What are the penalties if I don't register my property?

Failure to comply with the requirements for tourist rental registration can have serious consequences for owners, including financial and legal penalties.

Penalties can range from fines of up to €600,000 to restrictions on the ability to rental tourist accommodation. In cases of repeated non-compliance, owners risk having their licences or permits revoked.