Date Published: 30/06/2025

New rules for short-term rentals come into effect in Spain on July 1

All tourist and temporary rentals in Spain must now be registered to advertise online

From this Tuesday July 1, anyone wanting to rent out their property as a tourist rental, temporary accommodation or room rental will need to register with a new government system before they can advertise it online.

The Ministry of Housing has created something called the Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals. Once set up on the system, every rental property will get its own registration number that has to be displayed in online ads.

The system has been running on a voluntary basis for six months, but now it becomes mandatory. Digital platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com will have to show these registration numbers in their listings and report data to the government every month, or else face huge fines.

In a bit of an unexpected turn, the numbers show that people have actually been rushing to register, especially recently. From January 2 until last Friday, nearly 200,000 applications have been submitted. Most of these were for tourist rentals specifically.

Out of all these applications, about 90,000 have been approved, around 17,600 were rejected and more than 92,000 are still waiting to be processed.

The government says there's been a big surge in recent weeks. In just the last month since May 26, more than 125,000 new applications came in.

If you have a holiday home you rent out, this is something important to understand: this new registration system doesn't replace any local licenses you might need. Many towns and cities still require their own specific permits to run tourist accommodations. When you apply for the government registration, you'll need to show you have all the proper local permits too.

The General Union of Workers suggested last week that tourist apartment owners should also have to provide information about their employees and working conditions, but that would require changes to labour laws, so it’s on the backburner for the time being.

Once your application is approved, your registration number will work for one year. When it's time to renew, property owners have to provide an anonymous list of all the rental contracts they signed during that year, plus details about any changes to how they operate. This lets the government check that properties are actually being used for what they're registered for and operating legally.

The growth in tourist apartments has led to lots of illegal listings popping up and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has been finding thousands of these illicit ads on rental websites. Just last Thursday, they got Booking.com to remove some 4,000 illegal listings after asking them to clean up their platform, and Airbnb ran into similar trouble recently.

Not everyone's happy with these new rules. The Spanish Federation of Tourist Housing and Apartments thinks the system will actually make the illegal rental problem worse and create more bureaucracy. They argue that landlords could be put off by all the red tape and procedures and choose to rent their properties under the table as an easier option.

However, the Spanish government is staunchly defending the new system as a practical step to bring more control to the short-term rental market, prevent fraud and hopefully ease some of the housing pressures that have been building up in many Spanish cities where tourist rentals have been blamed for reducing available housing for residents.

In any case, it’s part of the EU regulations, and every single member state will have to adopt a similar system at some time in the near future, so Spain is for once ahead of the game.

How Heniam can help

Based in Cartagena, the English-speaking team at Heniam & Associates specialises in Spanish property law and can guide you through the process of securing a tourist licence, obtaining community approval and meeting all regional and national requirements.

Whether you're starting from scratch or need to adapt to the latest legal updates, the experts are here to help you stay compliant and avoid risk.

Contact Heniam today for a free consultation and take the stress out of short-term rentals in Spain.

Image: Archive

Linea Directa Bottom Article A-L CAR INSURANCE

Address

Office 1: Monteclaro 1, 30389 La Manga Club / Office 2: Calle Delta del Danubio, 30385 Los Belones

Tel: 0034 868 707 917
Mobile: 0034 689 017 754

View Website

View Google Map

Facebook

Heniam & Associates for Conveyancing, paperwork, legal advice and immigration throughout the Region of Murcia

Catering for the needs of expats living all over Spain, and particularly in the Costa Cálida and the Costa Blanca, Heniam & Associates offer a wide range of services including conveyancing, legal and administrative advice.

At the same time, their team of dedicated professionals appreciate the need to assist you in an easy and reliable manner, allowing you as much time as possible to enjoy your freedom, relax and make the most out of life in Spain. Without sacrificing efficiency, they offer personalised services to each and every client, listening to their needs in order to provide exactly the right service and desired outcome.

In the all-important field of Legal and Administrative Services, Heniam & Associates provide help in a wide range of matters including (but not limited to):

Conveyancing
Legal and professional communication assistance
NIE and TIE Applications
Commercial and company set-up and licensing
Spanish health and administrative services
Support and assistance with regulatory bodies
Professional will writing services and advice on intestate inheritance laws (both in the UK and in Spain)
Contract drafting (for businesses and individuals)
Dispute resolution
Digital signatures and certificates

Whether taking advantage of our conveyancing services or any other legal matter Heniam & Associates’ business partner HeniamLegal will represent you in the best possible way, excelling especially in their conveyancing service.

When buying a property in a foreign country it can be challenging to understand all of the
steps that have to be taken. Heniam knows that buying a home can be stressful and
they want to ensure that you have the resources that you need to make sure that the
transaction is as smooth as possible so that you can start to enjoy your new home without worrying about the details and any purchase pitfalls.

HeniamLegal will be on hand to assist you with every part of the process. They have
dedicated professionals on hand to assist you every step of the way ensuring that all
of the relevant checks and investigations are carried out and, of course, negotiating on your behalf and protecting your interests. You will always have the support you need with HeniamLegal and Heniam & Associates.

Heniam & Associates In addition, translation services are provided either for written documents or for occasions such as visits to the doctor or to administrative offices, and assistance is provided in finding the best deal on foreign currency transfers.