Airbnb rules in Spain 2026: the national registration number, Andalusia and Marbella

To let a holiday home legally on Airbnb in Marbella in 2026, the home must be registered in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía as a vivienda de uso turístico (VUT), with its code in every listing.⁵ Spain’s national single registration number, live since 1 July 2025, lost its legal basis when the Supreme Court annulled that part of Real Decreto 1312/2024 in May 2026.¹² On top of the regional register come the community of owners, which can approve, limit or ban tourist lets, and Spanish non-resident tax.⁶⁷ We found no Marbella moratorium; nearby Málaga has paused new tourist homes for up to three years.¹⁰¹²

In this guide

1. Airbnb rules in Spain: three layers
2. The national registration number and the Supreme Court
3. Andalusia: the VUT register
4. Marbella and Málaga
5. The community of owners
6. Taxes for non-resident owners
7. The rules by level
8. Before you manage a unit on the Costa del Sol
9. Questions people ask
10. Sources

Airbnb rules in Spain: three layers

Spain splits the rules three ways. The state sets the EU data rules, apartment-building law and non-resident tax. The Junta de Andalucía decides who may let to tourists and runs the register. Councils decide through urban planning where tourist use is allowed, with explicit powers to limit it.⁴¹⁴

The EU layer is Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, which has applied since 20 May 2026. It does not create an EU licence. It sets rules for registration schemes that countries choose to run, including that a unit is not subject to more than one registration procedure, and it leaves national, regional and local access rules in place.³ The full EU picture is in EU short-term rental regulation 2024/1028; Belgian and Dutch rules are in Airbnb rules in Belgium and the Netherlands.

For a holiday home in Italy, the national CIN and city rules in Florence and Venice are covered in Airbnb rules in Italy. For a holiday home across the border, see Airbnb rules in Portugal.

The national registration number and the Supreme Court

Real Decreto 1312/2024 of 23 December 2024 created two things: the Registro Único de Arrendamientos, a single registration procedure run through the Property Registry, and the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos, the national single digital entry point for platform data. It entered into force on 2 January 2025, with its provisions taking effect from 1 July 2025.¹ From then hosts needed a national registration number to advertise, well before the EU regulation applied.

That changed in 2026. In a ruling of 19 May 2026 on an appeal by the Generalitat Valenciana, the Supreme Court annulled the provisions on the single registration procedure and on the obligation to register with the Property Registry or the Movable Property Registry to obtain a number for offering short-term rentals through online platforms. The ruling was published in the BOE on 8 June 2026, and the court dismissed the appeal on everything else.² The BOE’s consolidated text notes two further rulings, of 21 May and 1 June 2026, to the same effect.¹

What remains in force:

• The Ventanilla Única Digital, run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda.¹
• The platforms’ duty to send the Ventanilla activity data per unit each month, or each quarter for small and micro platforms.¹

idealista/news, a property news site, quoted a lawyer saying that owners no longer need the single number or the annual declaration to the Property Registry, and noted that it is unclear which number platforms will now use.¹¹ The official texts we read do not settle it. In Andalusia, keep the RTA code in every listing and check what Airbnb’s form asks for.

Andalusia: the VUT register

Andalusia’s rules for tourist homes are in Decreto 28/2016. Decreto 31/2024 of 29 January 2024, in force since February 2024, renamed the category from viviendas con fines turísticos (VFT) to viviendas de uso turístico (VUT).⁴ So “VFT Marbella” in older listings and contracts means the same register under its old name.

Who must register

Any home let habitually for tourist purposes must be registered. Under the Junta’s FAQ, advertising the home is presumed to be habitual letting, and listing it on channels where a booking can be made is presumed to be tourist use. Stays of more than two months with the same tenant are excluded.⁵ Protected public housing (VPO) and homes whose community statutes expressly prohibit tourist lets cannot be tourist homes.⁴⁵

How registration works

You file an online declaración responsable for the start of the activity. The Junta says the procedure requires a digital certificate and is free.⁵ Always attach:

• an up-to-date nota simple from the Land Registry;
• a certificate from the community’s secretary or administrator approving tourist use;
• if the operator is not the owner, the contract that gives the right to operate the whole home, with its term.⁵

Missing documents can be requested within 10 working days; if they do not arrive, cancellation starts. The Junta tells you to confirm with the council that the home meets planning rules, as each registration is passed on.⁵ The registration resolution gives a code in the format VUT/XX/00000, where XX is the province. The CTC number you get when filing is not that code.⁵

Requirements after Decreto 31/2024

The amended decree sets a few points worth checking on every visit:⁴

• whole homes up to 15 places, homes let by the room up to 6, and at most four places per room;
• at least 14 m² per place, with a 25 m² minimum unless local planning sets another figure;
• two bathrooms above five places, three above eight;
• cooling if the home operates between May and August, heating if it operates between December and March;
• a 24-hour contact number, cleaning at each arrival and departure, complaint forms, house rules and receipts;
• arrival from 15:00 and departure by 11:00, and no key boxes on street furniture;
• a first-aid kit, smoke detector and fire extinguisher.

You also declare operating periods. If you let outside them you risk being treated as operating without a declaration, which the Junta classes as a serious infringement under Andalusia’s tourism law.⁵

The power to limit

Decreto 31/2024 lets councils limit the number of tourist homes per building, sector, area, zone or period, provided the limits are proportionate to an overriding public interest and follow clear, objective criteria published in advance.⁴ Osborne Clarke, a law firm, explains that Decreto-ley 1/2025 went further: where a council justifies overriding reasons, residential use of a plot no longer allows tourist use by itself, and the urban plan must provide for it.¹⁴

Marbella and Málaga

Marbella

On 19 February 2025 Marbella’s mayor announced a municipal register of tourist homes and a new ordinance to limit converting commercial premises into tourist homes. The council’s announcement cited a University of Málaga study finding that only 32% of the homes registered in the municipality are actually marketed.¹⁰ The study’s idea of maximum percentages per building or floor was presented as an option, not a decision.¹⁰

We found no approved ordinance, municipal register or moratorium in force on marbella.es. Euro Weekly News, an English-language local paper, reported in July 2026 that Marbella maintains oversight “without a blanket cap on licences”.¹⁷ That is not proof, so ask the council’s planning department in writing, especially for a ground-floor or former commercial unit.

Málaga city

Málaga went much further. Hosteltur, a tourism trade publication, reported in August 2025 that the city would suspend new tourist home licences and registrations for up to three years while it amends its general urban plan, using article 6 of Decreto-ley 1/2025. That came on top of a January 2025 ban on new tourist homes in 43 neighbourhoods where they exceeded 8% of homes.¹² In July 2026, El Español reported a further plan change that stops hotels and tourist apartments from being allowed automatically on residential land, again for up to three years.¹³ We could not open malaga.eu’s own notices today, so confirm the current status there.

The community of owners

For apartments, the building often decides. Ley Orgánica 1/2025 added article 7.3 to the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal with effect from 3 April 2025: an owner who wants to start a tourist let needs the community’s express prior approval. Under article 17.12, an agreement to approve, limit, condition or prohibit tourist lets needs the vote of three fifths of all owners, and the same majority can raise that home’s share of common costs by up to 20%. These agreements are not retroactive.⁶ An owner who was already letting under the tourism rules before 3 April 2025 may continue under the conditions of those rules.⁶

Communities can go further. Infobae reported in April 2025 that the Supreme Court upheld a Marbella community’s 2019 ban on tourist lets, finding that the power to “limit” can include a total prohibition.¹⁵ The equivalent of a Belgian VME or Dutch VvE here is the comunidad de propietarios, and its certificate is one of the documents the RTA asks for.⁵

Taxes for non-resident owners

A Belgian or Dutch owner who is not tax resident in Spain pays Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes on Spanish rental income. The Agencia Tributaria says the general rule is tax on the gross amount without deductions; residents of another EU or EEA state with effective tax information exchange may deduct the expenses allowed under Spanish income tax rules if they are directly related to the Spanish income. The rate is 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, and 24% for others.⁷ A Belgian or Dutch owner with a flat in France pays French non-resident tax instead; see Airbnb rules in France and Paris.

The return is Modelo 210. For rental income accrued in 2026 and later, the Agencia Tributaria now gives a filing window of 1 to 20 April of the following year, whether you file per period or grouped for the year; income accrued up to September 2026 and filed separately keeps the old quarterly windows.⁸⁹ The Agencia Tributaria also notes that a let can count as a business through a permanent establishment if at least one person is employed full time to run it, which changes the rules.⁷ Read the Agencia Tributaria’s non-resident pages and use a Spanish tax adviser; tax at home comes on top.

There is no tourist tax in Andalusia that we could find. Moncloa.com, a Spanish news site, reported on 31 October 2026 that the Junta still rejects one and that the regional tourism minister, Manuel Gavira, says the power to create it lies with the state.¹⁶ Seville and Málaga are pushing for it, so check before each season.

The rules by level

Before you manage a unit on the Costa del Sol

1. Register entry. Is the home in the RTA, under which code, and who is listed as owner and operator?⁵
2. Operator change. If you will handle keys, guests, cleaning and maintenance, you are the operator and the change must be filed.⁵
3. Operating periods. Which periods are declared, and do they match the calendar you will open?⁵
4. Community. Is there a certificate of approval, and did letting start before 3 April 2025?⁶
5. Council. Has the urban planning department confirmed tourist use is compatible, in writing?⁵
6. Tax. Who files Modelo 210, and when?⁸
7. Contract. Put each of these in your management agreement, including who pays a fine.

Questions people ask

Sources

All sources checked 2 November 2026.

1. Boletín Oficial del Estado, “Real Decreto 1312/2024, de 23 de diciembre, por el que se regula el procedimiento de Registro Único de Arrendamientos y se crea la Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (texto consolidado)”, Consolidated text last updated 18 July 2026, in Spanish
2. Boletín Oficial del Estado, “Sentencia de 19 de mayo de 2026, de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo, que estima parcialmente el recurso contra el Real Decreto 1312/2024”, BOE no. 139, 8 June 2026, in Spanish
3. EUR-Lex, “Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services”
4. Boletín Oficial de la Junta de Andalucía, “Decreto 31/2024, de 29 de enero, por el que se modifican diversas disposiciones en materia de viviendas de uso turístico, establecimientos de apartamentos turísticos y hoteleros”, BOJA no. 24, 2 February 2024, in Spanish
5. Junta de Andalucía, “Viviendas de uso turístico. Preguntas frecuentes”, Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, in Spanish
6. Boletín Oficial del Estado, “Ley 49/1960, de 21 de julio, sobre propiedad horizontal (texto consolidado)”, Articles 7.3 and 17.12 and the second additional provision, in Spanish
7. Agencia Tributaria, “Cuestiones específicas sobre tributación de inmuebles: rendimientos de inmuebles arrendados”, In Spanish
8. Agencia Tributaria, “Declaración del IRNR sin establecimiento permanente: modelo y plazo de declaración”, Updated 27 October 2026, in Spanish
9. Agencia Tributaria, “Nota modificaciones en plazos de presentación del modelo 210 introducidas por la Orden HAC/623/2026”, Updated 2 July 2026, in Spanish
10. Ayuntamiento de Marbella, “Marbella contará con un registro municipal de viviendas turísticas y con una nueva normativa que limitará el cambio de uso para esta actividad de los locales comerciales”, Council news, 19 February 2025, in Spanish
11. idealista/news, “El Supremo tumba el registro único de alquiler de corta duración por invadir competencias autonómicas”, Property news, 21 May 2026, in Spanish
12. Hosteltur, “Málaga decretará una moratoria de viviendas turísticas de tres años máximo”, Trade news, 13 August 2025, in Spanish
13. El Español, “Málaga da el paso definitivo para vetar apartamentos turísticos y hoteles en suelo residencial durante tres años”, Newspaper, 16 July 2026, in Spanish
14. Osborne Clarke, “Novedades legislativas en materia de turismo y vivienda en Andalucía”, Law firm, 28 March 2025, in Spanish
15. Infobae, “La comunidad de vecinos de Marbella que ganó en los tribunales y consiguió prohibir el alquiler turístico”, Newspaper, 8 April 2025, in Spanish
16. Moncloa.com, “La Junta mantiene su rechazo a la tasa turística pese a la insistencia de Sevilla y Málaga”, Independent news site, not the Spanish government, 31 October 2026, in Spanish
17. Euro Weekly News, “Local authorities in Costa del Sol introduce new restrictions on short-term tourist accommodation”, English-language local newspaper, 5 July 2026

We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email systemen@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.