With tourism being the main driving force of Spain’s economy and many Andalusian regions being some of the most popular tourist hotspots, it comes as no surprise that many property owners on the Costa del Sol decide to venture into holiday rentals industry and let out their houses and apartments to the millions of tourists visiting the area year after year.
Holiday rental of private properties can be a very lucrative business, but as any other industry it comes with its own laws and regulations. Andalusian government had worked on its own regulations aimed at standardising the holiday rental industry to meet the demands of tourists, and in May 2016 a new Decree came into force regulating the properties offered for holiday rentals. It was then further amended in 2018 and again just recently in February 2024. The above regulation addresses different type properties situated on the residential land and offered on a regular basis as tourist accommodation at a fixed price (properties on rural land and 3 or more properties by the same owner within the radius of 1 km fall under a different regulation).
Even with the latest amendments introducing more requirements, the Andalusian law is significantly “softer” and simpler compared to many other regions of Spain (Balearic or Canary islands, Barcelona etc) allowing the activity to anyone who complies with the regulations and is properly registered through submitting the Responsible Declaration. Failure to comply with the law may impact hefty fines starting from 2’000€ and going up to 150’000€ and even closure of the establishment.
To obtain your Tourist Rental license you need to meet a set of requirements.
Paperwork includes Certificate from the Property Registry confirming that tourist rentals are not expressly prohibited by the Community of Owners, and documentation confirming ownership or the right for exploitation. Other documents might be required depending on each individual case.
Your property needs to meet an extensive list of requirements, some of which (not all) are listed below:
- Strict compliance with the urbanistic requirements of each municipality
- Minimum constructed area of 25m2 and a minimum required area per each accommodation place of 14m2
- Equipped for cooling and heating
- Adequately furnished and equipped with the set of appliances, fixtures and fittings required for immediate use and according to the number of accommodation places offered. A detailed list of specifications per each room type is published on the Junta de Andalucia website
- First aid kit available in the property
- All guests provided with tourist information about the location, leisure areas, restaurants, grocery stores, closest parking facilities, medical services, transportation, as well as maps of the city and entertainment guides.
- All guests should have at their disposal clear information and instructions on the usage of appliances and installations, as well as internal regulations and restrictions if any
The operator of the tourist accommodation is obliged to:
- Provide to all guests a 24-hour contact number to be available on and resolve any incidents
- Have available Claims and Complaints book at guest’s disposal
- Provide cleaning service on arrival and departure of each new guest
- Sign rental contract with each guest
- Provide guests with all relevant information about the accommodation and the applicable norms
Once you comply with all above you need to register your property by submitting the Responsible Declaration “Declaracion Responsable” in front of the Tourist Board of Andalusia. In this document you declare that you fulfil all above requirements and will be able to prove it during the inspection once it takes place. Once the Declaration is submitted you get your Registry number which is the same as your Tourist License Number and you can legally start the activity of tourist rentals. Don’t forget to include the above Tourist License number in any advertisement of your property.
Once you have obtained your Tourist License you also need to register your property with the Local Police or Guardia Civil to fulfil your obligation of passing on ID details of each guest over 16 years of age.
The overall procedure is not complicated and if you have a reasonably good command of Spanish you can attempt to do it yourself. Alternatively, if your tourist rental property is on the Costa del Sol, in the region between Malaga and Marbella and you wish to save yourself time and trouble - let Malaga Expat Consulting help you obtain your rental property Tourist license in a matter of days.
We can help you along the whole process starting from advising on regulations to getting your Tourist License number and registering you with the Local Police. Get in touch to start the process now and avoid any obstacles in your new business venture on the Costa del Sol!