Buying to rent. Regulations that affect tourist lets

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Accommodation. Buyers are advised to be aware of the legalities regarding tourist accommodation before choosing a property to rent out as a holiday home; neighbours and local councils can affect plans

Rachel Haynes

Friday, 20 February 2026, 12:13

It's the ideal arrangement. You stay in your own property when you come on holiday to the Costa del Sol and rent it out to other tourists when you are in your home country.

People have been doing it for years; not only do they have their own holiday home in the sun, but they also have some extra income to help pay the bills.

Others buy a property that they will eventually move into, but want to rent it out as a holiday home meanwhile; and some see their purchase of a potential holiday home as a good investment.

Laws in Spain are changing, however, and property buyers planning to turn their new apartment or villa into a tourist let need to ensure that national and local laws and especially the rules of their own building or development will be on their side.

A regional law brought in in 2016 in Andalucía stated that properties posted on internet platforms such as Airbnb have the obligation of being registered with the Junta on its Registro de Turismo de Andalucía. This provides them with a reference number that has to be used in advertisements online.

Juan Cubo, president of the association of tourist properties in Andalucía (AVVA-Pro), explains how being able to register a property as a tourist let is now considerably more complicated than it was when the register started.

The first filter owners are going to have to go through is new, he explains. Last year the national government modified its Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (the law that regulates the rights and obligations of property owners in buildings and complexes that share common elements).

Permission from neighbours

"They turned the process of having permission from other owners on its head," explains Cubo. "Before the change, owners had to call a meeting of the Comunidad de Propietarios to prohibit a property from being rented out on a tourist let basis. It wasn't easy. Now, though, [renting to tourists] is not allowed unless the owner calls a meeting to ask for permission," says Cubo.

And without that permission, from three fifths of the owners, the property cannot be registered with the Junta de Andalucía and cannot be advertised on the internet.

This rule, explains Cubo, applies to all properties where there is a Comunidad de Propietarios, not just apartments.

"Our association is trying to negotiate to exclude individual detached properties, but it's very difficult," adds Cubo.

"It's different if you buy a property that is already registered on the Andalusian tourism register," says Cubo. "In this case it's just a question of a change of ownership, according to the Junta de Andalucía," he says, although he warns that there are calls for the law to establish that the new owner must apply again for permission.

In the case of new developments, buyers need to know as far as possible whether or not the property can be rented out to tourists. Cubo explains: "I would recommend looking at the statutes of the Comunidad before buying." Even before properties in a new development have owners, the developer has to set up the Comunidad de Propietarios and draw up its statutes. These statutes could directly prohibit tourist lets from the start or even expressly authorise them, explained Cubo.

Local council regulations

The journey towards renting a property to tourists has more potential obstacles in its way. Even with permission from the rest of the owners in a building or a development, the local council could have regulations that prevent a property from being used for tourist lets.

Cubo advises checking what municipal regulations are in place when considering buying a property to rent out to tourists.

Malaga city is a prime example of where the local council has taken measures, faced with soaring numbers of holiday flats and a shortage of housing for long-term rentals.

Last year the city hall brought in a three-year ban on new properties being registered as tourist accommodation. And even when the ban is lifted, the local regulations state that a tourist apartment has to have separate access, rather than sharing a front door with other residents. What's more the city council has approved a rule that states that tourist apartments must not account for more than eight per cent of properties in a district.

Other Andalusian cities and large towns are bringing in regulations concerning tourist lets and Juan Cubo advises potential buyers to check with the local town hall before making a decision.

Rural properties

The situation is very different moving out of towns and cities and into rural areas. "If there's no Comunidad you don't have to ask your neighbours' permission," explains Cubo. "It's simpler in areas classed as 'rústicas'; you can join the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, providing you comply with legal technical requirements," he adds.

Joining the register as tourist accommodation comes with a whole list of requirements, apart from having permission from other owners and complying with municipal rules.

These range from having air conditioning in summer and heating in winter to providing a first aid kit and tourist information, among other requirements.

National register

The Spanish central government complicated matters even further last year when it brought in its own nationwide tourist accommodation register, known as the 'registro único'.

This has generated controversy and has involved the European Commission, which does not allow this kind of duplication in procedures.

The Tris (European Technical Regulation Information System) has warned that Spain is breaching internal market regulations and has ordered the central and regional governments to find a solution before 20 May. Meanwhile property owners have to include their apartment or villa on both registers.

"I would recommend buyers to seek advice from a company expert in managing tourist accommodation to avoid buying in a place where you think you are going to be able to rent and then find out you can't," says Cubo.