Requirements to rent out a holiday let (vivienda de uso turístico) in Andalusia in 2026

By Álvaro García, registered architect no. 19625 (COAM). Reviewed in October 2026.

Before you rent out a holiday let (vivienda de uso turístico, VUT), you must register it in the Andalusian Tourism Register (Registro de Turismo de Andalucía) with a responsible declaration (declaración responsable) (article 9 of Decreto 28/2016). The property must comply with the town's planning rules and have 14 m² built per guest place, with a minimum of 25 m² and a maximum of 15 guest places. In a building with a community of owners, since 3 April 2025 you need the express approval of three fifths of the owners. The single national register of Real Decreto 1312/2024 was annulled by the Supreme Court in May 2026.

What a holiday let is and which rules apply in 2026

It is a home equipped for immediate use that is offered for a price, on a regular basis and for tourist purposes (article 3 of Decreto 28/2016, the Andalusian holiday let decree). A tourist purpose is presumed when it is advertised through tourist-offer channels, such as agencies or platforms with booking.

It can be let as a whole or by rooms. In the second case, the holder must live in it and be registered as a resident with the town hall (empadronado) (article 5).

These cannot be holiday lets (article 1.3):

Protected housing (viviendas protegidas).
Homes in buildings whose title or statutes expressly forbid tourist accommodation.
Homes recognised as AFO (asimilado a fuera de ordenación), unless the town hall gives prior and express authorisation.

The decree does not cover homes let free of charge, homes let for more than two months in a row to the same person, and rural-setting homes, which have their own decree (article 1.2).

Rule	What it regulates
Decreto 28/2016, amended by Decreto 31/2024 and decree-laws (Decretos-ley) 7/2024 and 1/2025	Requirements for the home and registration in the Andalusian Tourism Register
Decreto-ley 1/2025, article 6	What town halls can limit through planning
Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (horizontal property act), articles 7.3 and 17.12 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025)	Approval by the community of owners
Real Decreto 1312/2024	Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals (Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos). Its single register was annulled in 2026
Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (urban lettings act), article 5.e)	Excludes these lets from the lettings act and limits their length

Requirements for the home: size, guest places, bathrooms and climate control

Requirement	What Decreto 28/2016 requires	Article
Planning	Comply with the town's planning rules. Where the town hall has introduced it, hold the licence or responsible declaration that allows tourist use	6.1.a
Floor area	14 m² built per guest place, based on the main-use area recorded in the Catastro (the property tax register). Minimum of 25 m² or, failing that, the minimum the local plan sets	6.1.b
Guest places	Maximum of 15 if let as a whole and 6 if let by rooms. Up to 4 per room, two of them in beds that are not bunk beds	5.4
Bathrooms	Two if there are more than 5 places and three if there are more than 8	6.1.c
Ventilation	Bedrooms and living rooms with direct ventilation to the outside or to ventilated courtyards, and with blackout. Kitchens and bathrooms with direct or forced ventilation	6.1.d
Cooling	In bedrooms and living rooms, with fixed or portable units, if the home operates in May, June, July and August	6.1.e
Heating	In bedrooms and living rooms if it operates in December, January, February and March. Incandescent and combustion appliances do not count	6.1.f
Equipment	Furniture and household items, a kitchen with two burners, beds of 80 × 190 cm or 135 × 190 cm, first-aid kit, smoke detector next to the kitchen and fire extinguisher	Annex

Example: a flat with 70 m² built in the Catastro allows 5 places and needs only one bathroom. To declare 6 places you need 84 m² and two bathrooms.

The 2016 wording expressly asked for the occupancy licence (licencia de ocupación). The current one no longer names it and requires compliance with the town's planning rules. In practice, that is shown with the building licence (licencia de obra) and the occupancy licence or responsible declaration.

Whoever runs the home must provide a 24-hour contact phone, clean it at check-in and check-out and keep complaint forms available (article 6.2). Homes registered before 2024 had one year to adapt to the climate control and annex requirements, and that period has now passed.

Registering in the Andalusian Tourism Register

Before you start. You submit an electronic responsible declaration to the regional tourism department (Consejería de Turismo). From that moment you can advertise the home as a holiday let (article 9.1).
What you declare. The home and its cadastral reference, its capacity, who runs it and under what title, that it is not protected housing, that it is compatible with the planning, that the statutes do not forbid it and in which periods it will operate.
Notice to the town hall. The Consejería informs your town hall of the registration. If the home does not comply with its planning rules, the town hall reports it and the registration is cancelled (article 9.3).
Cancellation. It is also cancelled for inaccurate or false data of an essential nature, or if required licences or responsible declarations are missing, especially planning ones (article 9.2).

Registration takes effect on submitting the declaration alone (article 38 of Ley 13/2011, del Turismo de Andalucía, the Andalusian tourism act). The risk stays with whoever signs: if a document turns out to be missing later, you lose the registration.

Renting out without having filed it is clandestine activity, classed as a serious offence (article 11 of the decree and article 71.1 of Ley 13/2011).

The town hall: what it can limit

Town halls may, for an overriding reason of general interest, limit the maximum number of holiday lets per building, sector, district, period, area or zone (article 2.2 of Decreto 28/2016). The criteria must be clear, objective and published before they are applied.

Decreto-ley 1/2025, in force since 4 March 2025, adds three planning tools (article 6):

In municipalities that declare and justify it, the residential use of a plot does not by itself allow tourist accommodation. The plan must provide for that compatibility and you must obtain a licence or file a responsible declaration.
The town hall can set that provision by buildings, areas, zones or sectors.
While it processes a change to the plan, it can suspend licences and responsible declarations for holiday lets, across the whole municipality or by zones. If it decides this before initial approval, the suspension lasts three years at most.

On the Almería coast, from Roquetas de Mar, Aguadulce and Almerimar to Mojácar and Vera, each town hall decides whether to use these tools and in which zones. Before buying to let, ask the planning department or request a planning report on the home.

Community of owners and national register: the 2025 and 2026 changes

Ley Orgánica 1/2025 changed the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal with effect from 3 April 2025:

Anyone who wants to use their home for tourist letting must first obtain the express approval of the community (article 7.3).
The resolution that approves, limits, conditions or prohibits the activity needs three fifths of the owners and of the ownership shares (article 17.12).
With that same majority, the community can raise that home's share of the common expenses by up to 20%.
Resolutions are not retroactive. Anyone who was already carrying on the activity before that date, under the tourism rules, can continue (second additional provision).

If you rent out without that approval, the president can require you to stop and go to court. The Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública (the national registries authority) applied the rule to a tourist licence obtained after 3 April 2025 (resolution of 8 October 2025).

Real Decreto 1312/2024 created a single national register. From 1 July 2025, a number assigned by the Land Registry was needed to advertise on platforms.

The Supreme Court annulled that procedure in judgments of 19 and 21 May 2026, because the State had no competence to create it. The Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals, through which platforms send their data, remains in place (article 7). Today the mandatory register is the regional one.

Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, in force since 1 October 2026, limits these tourist lets to a maximum of 31 days (article 5.e of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos). It also changes VAT on short stays from 1 December 2026, so check with your tax adviser. As of 2 October 2026 it was awaiting ratification in Congress: confirm that it is still in force.

Where the architect comes in

The tourist registration is a declaration you make. What supports it is the home's planning paperwork, and that is where something is often missing.

Occupancy licence or responsible declaration. It shows that the home is legal and fit for its use. If you do not have one and the home complies with the plan, it is submitted with a descriptive and graphic certificate from a technician (article 138.1.e of the LISTA, Andalusia's planning act, and article 293 of its Regulation).
Floor area and Catastro. Guest places are calculated from the built area shown in the Catastro. If it does not match reality, we have to measure, draw the plans and correct it.
Legalising first. An extension or enclosure without a licence can cost you the registration. If they comply with the plan, they can be legalised. If they do not and six years have passed, there is the AFO, which on its own does not allow tourist use.
Tourist use. Where the town hall asks for a licence or responsible declaration for tourist use, you will need the technical documentation its ordinance asks for.
Energy performance certificate (EPC). Real Decreto 390/2021 requires it when letting to a new tenant (article 3) and requires the label to be included in every rental offer (article 15). It is valid for ten years, or five if the rating is G.
Plans. The current state of the home and, if the community has an evacuation plan, the one that must be placed on the door (article 6.2.d of the decree).

At Poniente Arquitectura we handle the occupancy licence or responsible declaration from €450 + VAT, in one to two weeks. The energy performance certificate costs from €65 + VAT.

If you are not sure what paperwork your home has, start with our guide to the habitation certificate (cédula de habitabilidad) in Andalusia.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an occupancy licence for a holiday let in Andalusia?

The decree no longer names it, as it did in 2016, but it does require compliance with the town's planning rules. If the home does not comply, the town hall reports it and the registration is cancelled (article 9.3).

Do I need permission from the community of owners?

Yes, if you start after 3 April 2025: express approval of three fifths of the owners and of the ownership shares (articles 7.3 and 17.12 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal). Anyone who was already operating before, under the tourism rules, can continue.

How many guest places can I declare?

One for every 14 m² built according to the Catastro, with a maximum of 15 for a whole home and 4 per room. From 6 places you need two bathrooms, and from 9, three.

Do I still need the national registration number to advertise?

The Supreme Court annulled the single register of Real Decreto 1312/2024 in May 2026. Registration in the Andalusian Tourism Register and the Digital One-Stop Shop, to which the platforms send their data, remain in place.

Can I let a house with an AFO as a holiday let?

No, unless the town hall gives prior and express authorisation for the change of activity (article 1.3.d of Decreto 28/2016).

Sources

This guide is for information; every case needs a check of the local rules.