New rules governing short-term rentals in Spain come into force on July 1, potentially removing large numbers of holiday homes from the legal system and causing chaos for holidaymakers
Brits heading on summer holidays in Spain have been warned that they may not have a place to stay.
In just two weeks, on July 1, regulations governing short-term rentals will come into force in Spain. It includes a single register for short-term lets. It has been predicted that the change could see as much as 70% of the supply wiped from the market, potentially wiping £11 billion from the Spanish economy.
The impact on holidaymakers could be that trips away are thrown into chaos. On Monday, the Spanish Federation of Tourist Housing and Apartment Associations warned that booked holiday homes could simply “disappear” from the system.
“Families who have booked an apartment or holiday home are likely to be left without accommodation, as a large part of the legal supply cannot be registered in the Single Digital Window system and will disappear from the platforms,” explained its president, Silvia Blasco, in a statement.
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The organisation – which has a vested interest in the holiday home sector given its role representing ” more than 185,000 apartments” across the country – has argued that the new system will “lead to an increase in the black economy and a rise in illegal housing.”
Around 100,000 registrations have been made throughout the country so far, according to data from Spain’s Association of Registrars. Many Spanish owners are also having difficulties with the process, sources familiar with it told The Objective.
The Spanish government approved the new regulations on tourist rentals at the end of 2024, although the rules officially come into force on January 2, 2025. The law established a transition period lasting until 1 July 2025, in which all short-term, tourist property owners affected can register in the new system.
Once July 1 arrives, all owners of tourist and seasonal rental properties in Spain must have a unique registration number to operate legally.
Carlos Babot, a lawyer at Babot-Aranguren Asociados, told the Objective that signing people up has been “chaos”.
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“We have encountered a lot of chaos, especially because of the criteria being followed by each property registry, which are different… You go to registry 9 in Málaga and they ask you for one set of documents, you go to registry 10 in Málaga and they ask you for a completely different set of documents,” he said.
If you are due to stay in a holiday home in Spain after July 1, it may be wise to contact the person who booked it with to make sure that you still have somewhere to stay.
The transition is coming to an end during a period of significant upheaval in Spain, with huge numbers of protesters hitting the streets in opposition to mass tourism.