Renting it out · 2 July 2026 · 5 min read
The rental rules changed. Here's what buyers need to know.
If your knowledge of Spanish holiday-let rules is more than two years old, it is out of date. Spain has moved against uncontrolled short lets on several fronts at once, and buyers counting on rental income need the current picture, not the 2019 one.
What tightened
Three layers. First, registration: tourist lets in Andalusia need a VUT registration with the Junta, and since March 2025 councils can require their own go-ahead first and pause new lets for up to three years. (A national register added in July 2025 was annulled by the Supreme Court in May 2026.) Second, the community veto: since 3 April 2025, Spain's horizontal property law says a new tourist let in a building needs the express approval of three-fifths of the owners. Third, city-level limits: Málaga city banned new registrations in 43 saturated neighbourhoods in January 2025, then suspended new tourist lets across the whole city for up to three years from August 2025.
What it means when you buy
The questions have changed from “can this area rent well?” to “can this specific apartment legally rent at all, and can that change after I buy?” Both are answerable before the arras: the licence position in writing, the community statutes and recent minutes, and the local picture for that town or neighbourhood. It is standard due diligence now, and our lawyer's checklist guide shows where it fits.
The contrarian point
Tighter rules are bad for speculators and quietly good for compliant owners: less illegal supply competing on price, and a licence that existing rules protect is worth more, not less. A building with established, statute-protected short lets is now an asset feature worth paying for. The losers are buyers who assumed, bought, and asked afterwards.
If income is core to your plan
Weight your search towards properties with existing licences and communities that have settled the question, run the sums from our worked example with honest occupancy, and treat long-term letting as the fallback plan: different rules, steadier income, its own regulation to understand.
Buying to let?
Our free Buying to Let guide covers holiday-let registration, what the flat needs, the council and the community, long lets, and the tax in Spain and Ireland, checked against the official sources.