Effective today, Tuesday, July 1st, landmark European regulations come into force in Spain, marking a new era for owners of short-term rental properties – whether for tourist or seasonal purposes. To continue advertising legally on digital platforms, registration in the Unified Rental Register is now mandatory.
The New Register: Focus on Control and Transparency
This system, approved in January but not previously mandatory, assigns a unique identification number to each property of this type. This code must now be prominently displayed in all online advertisements. The goal is to strengthen control and transparency in a sector that has experienced explosive growth in Spain in recent years. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), there are an estimated 350,000 to 400,000 apartments for tourist use (VUT) listed on online platforms in Spain.
The response to the impending obligation has been enormous: As of June 27th, the Ministry of Housing, based on data from the Association of Registrars, recorded almost 200,000 applications nationwide – over 60% of them in the last month alone. Of the applications already processed, 90,046 have been approved, 17,596 rejected, and 92,044 are still under review. The majority of applications (156,938) concern tourist rentals, with concentrations in the provinces of Málaga, Gran Canaria, Alicante, the Balearic Islands, and Barcelona. These regions collectively account for about 40% of the total holiday accommodation supply in the country.
The Digital Single Window: Your Central Point of Contact
The Digital Single Window for Leases is the new state platform designed to centralize and streamline the registration process for short-term rental properties. This accessible and unified tool channels requests from owners who wish to advertise their properties for purposes other than habitual residence on digital platforms.
The Single Window acts as a crucial interface between landlords, accommodation portals, public administrations (Ministry, Autonomous Communities, and city councils), and land registries. The latter are responsible for verifying compliance with applicable regulations before issuing the mandatory identification number. Once assigned, it is the owner’s responsibility to include this code in the respective listing to ensure more effective monitoring of activities and enhance transparency in the sector.
Who Needs to Obtain the Code?
All apartments intended for short-term rental, i.e., tourist or seasonal accommodations regularly offered through digital platforms or otherwise, must obtain the rental registration number. This includes both apartments and houses rented for days, weeks, or periods of less than 31 consecutive days, for holiday or similar purposes, which do not constitute the tenant’s habitual residence. The obligation applies regardless of whether the rental is managed directly by the owner or through intermediaries, and affects all properties listed on portals such as Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo, or similar platforms.
Exempt from the registration requirement are apartments rented for longer stays (more than one month) for residential purposes, or occasionally rented rooms within a habitual residence, unless regional regulations stipulate otherwise.
How to Obtain the Unique Registration Code
To obtain the unique registration number that allows a property to be rented for tourist or seasonal purposes, owners must access the electronic office of the Association of Property and Commercial Registrars of Spain. The process involves the following steps:
- Fill out the online form: Enter all required information about the property and the owner.
- Download the PDF form: Download the completed form.
- Online submission: Access the online submission service through the same platform.
- Select operation type: Choose “Assignment of rental registration number for short-term rentals.”
- Attach documents: Attach the PDF form along with all necessary supporting documents.
Once the process is complete and all documents have been sent (online or in person at the land registry), the application will be reviewed by the relevant registry, which verifies compliance with state, regional, and local regulations. If everything is in order, the unique registration number will be assigned, which is essential for legally advertising the property on digital platforms.
Information Required to Request the Code
To request this code, the owner must provide a series of identification data for both the property and the owner. The required information includes:
- The full address of the property
- The cadastral reference
- The type of use (tourist or seasonal)
- The maximum allowed occupancy capacity
In addition, it must also be stated whether the property is located in a residential building and whether it is subject to special regional or municipal regulations for short-term rentals. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide the personal data of the owner or legal representative, such as full name, DNI or NIE, tax address, email address, and contact phone number. It is also necessary to attach the supporting documents required by applicable regulations, such as the municipal permit (if mandatory in the Autonomous Community), the responsible declaration, or any other administrative authorization certifying that the property meets the legal requirements for use as short-term accommodation.
Penalties for Non-Registration: Severe Consequences Loom
As of July 1st, owners who fail to register their tourist or temporary property in the Unified Register of Leases or who provide false or incomplete data and do not correct it within seven days of receiving the provisional code will face direct consequences. In such cases, the Ministry of Housing can remove the property from the market and notify digital platforms, which have a maximum of 48 hours to remove the corresponding listing. Indeed, between last August and November, a total of 28,588 tourist accommodations disappeared from the market, a notable decline particularly evident in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.
Recently, the Supreme Court of Madrid upheld the Ministry’s measures and compelled Airbnb to remove almost 66,000 listings due to regulatory violations. Booking also removed over 4,000 properties last week after receiving a request from the department led by Pablo Bustinduy. In addition to the listing being removed, owners can face substantial fines, which, depending on the severity of the violation and the regulations of each Autonomous Community, can range between 2,000 Euros and 500,000 Euros.
