Tourist rental registration in Spain after the 2026 rulings

What the royal decree did, and what the court removed

Royal Decree 1312/2024 of 23 December 2024 was meant to apply the EU rules on short-term rental data. It did two things: it created a single digital window (Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos) to exchange data with online platforms, and it created the single register with a registration number that hosts had to display. The decree came into force on 2 January 2025, with its provisions taking effect on 1 July 2025.

The Supreme Court (Third Chamber) then ruled on appeals by the Valencian Government, by two associations of tourist apartments in Barcelona and Girona, and by the Region of Murcia:

The 19 May judgment annuls “los preceptos del Real Decreto impugnado referidos al procedimiento de registro único de arrendamientos y la obligación de la inscripción en el Registro de la Propiedad o en el de Bienes Muebles para obtener un número de registro”. It lists article 5 (hosts’ obligations), articles 8, 9 and 10 (the register, the registration procedure and the checking of the number), article 12(b) and (c), additional provision 2 and, in part, articles 1, 2 and 6 and final provision 1. The 21 May judgment annuls articles 2(f) and (i), 5, 6 (only as regards the single register and the registration number), 8, 9, 10 and 12(b), and the 1 June judgment repeats the 19 May list. The consolidated BOE text now marks the annulled provisions “(Anulado)”.

What survives

The judgments dismiss the appeals “en todo lo demás”. The consolidated decree still contains, for example, article 7, which creates the Digital Window as the national gateway for platforms to transmit activity data, and articles on the scope of the decree and on what counts as a short-term rental service. In plain terms, the data exchange between platforms and the state is not the part that fell; the obligation to obtain a single register number by entering the property or movable-property registers did. No new regulation to replace the annulled procedure was found in the BOE, the ministry’s pages or the government’s site at the date of this guide. Whether any other national rule will fill the gap is unknown.

Practical consequence: if a platform or an adviser tells you a “national registration number from the Land Registry” is compulsory under this decree, ask which provision they rely on. That wording matches what was annulled. Equally, do not conclude that a host has no duties: the regional rules below were not touched.

The national lease law still draws the line

The tenancy law (LAU, article 5.e) excludes from its scope the temporary assignment of a furnished, ready-to-use home that is marketed through tourist channels, for profit, under a tourist regime, and lasting no more than 31 days. Longer stays for work, study or similar are the residential or temporary-housing regime covered in letting your property in Spain.

Regional registers (three regions read)

Tourism is a regional competence, so the registers and conditions are set by each autonomous community.

Andalusia. Decree 31/2024 (BOJA no. 24 of 2 February 2024) amends Decree 28/2016. The host files an electronic declaración responsable before starting. The declaration must state that the building’s title or community statutes do not prohibit tourist use; “solo será admisible una vivienda por cada referencia catastral” (only one dwelling per cadastral reference); capacity is up to 15 places for a whole-home let and 14 m² of built area per place. The decree enters into force 20 days after its publication.

Catalonia. The Generalitat’s procedure page requires a habitability certificate (cèdula d’habitabilitat) and caps the capacity at 15 places. The home must display the registration number in the Catalan tourism register (NIRTC) with its maximum capacity and an assistance phone number; a provisional number can be used while the definitive one is pending. A stay is “de temporada” when continuous occupation is 31 days or less, and homes are let whole. In municipalities covered by Decree-law 3/2023, the start-up communication cannot be filed until a favourable decision on the prior planning licence (llicència urbanística) has been obtained; the page does not reproduce the list of municipalities.

Balearic Islands. Law 8/2012 on tourism (consolidated version updated 13 June 2026) regulates “estancias turísticas en viviendas”. Marketing is allowed in dwellings with a valid habitability certificate, or equivalent title, or an occupation licence stating the number of places (article 50.2). New responsible declarations are accepted only for homes in zones declared suitable (article 50.3), and in a building under horizontal property the declaration enables the activity for the period set by regulation, five years by default, renewable if requirements are still met. A principal-residence option lets an individual let their own main home for at most 60 days a year. Tourist stays in dwellings are incompatible with room-by-room contracts (article 50.15). The host must hold liability insurance (article 50.16).

For any other region, consult its tourism department; this guide did not read those texts.

Local licences and the community

Planning licences or town-hall restrictions can apply on top of the regional register; Catalonia’s page says a municipality may suspend or limit new registrations. In a building with a community of owners, the owner must obtain its prior express approval before starting a tourist activity since 3 April 2025; see tourist rentals and the community of owners.

Tax

Income from a tourist let is taxable; the rules for a resident are in rental income tax for residents, and the reductions for long-term residential lets described there do not apply to holiday lets, since article 23.2 of the income tax law refers to lets of housing under article 2.1 of the LAU, and tourist lets are excluded from the LAU by article 5.e.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with a Spanish bar association (colegio de abogados) can check the register and licence position for your municipality, and the regional tourism department is the authority that receives the declaration. Payotte does not list lawyers; see property lawyers.