Andalusia Tourist Licence Guide for Costa del Sol Owners (2026)

If you want to rent a Costa del Sol property to holiday guests through Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo or your own website, you will repeatedly hear one phrase:

“You need a tourist licence.”

In practice, a “tourist licence” is not one simple certificate. Owners must consider Andalusian tourist-registration rules, municipal planning compatibility, the community of owners, guest-reporting duties and the current national position.

Updated: September 2026. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and eligibility depends on the specific property. Confirm the current position with the relevant town hall and a qualified lawyer or gestor before buying, registering or advertising.

Who the Andalusian VUT rules cover

Andalusia regulates eligible holiday homes as viviendas de uso turístico (VUT). This guide draws on Decreto 28/2016, including the amendments made by Decreto 31/2024 and Decreto-ley 7/2024, together with the further changes made by Decreto-ley 1/2025.

A VUT is generally an equipped dwelling offered for paid tourist accommodation in Andalusia on a habitual basis. Under Decreto 31/2024, a rental lasting more than two continuous months to the same guest is outside the Andalusian VUT definition, although other rental rules may still apply.

The decree limits a whole-home VUT to 15 guests and a room-by-room VUT to six, with no more than four guests per bedroom. These are maximum limits; floor area, bathrooms, planning rules and the property’s approved capacity may result in a lower number.

For room-by-room tourist letting, the person holding the relevant owner, usufructuary or operator status must reside in the dwelling and be registered there on the municipal padrón. Confirm that the proposed ownership and operating arrangement satisfies the current rule before filing.

Community approval from 3 April 2025

Since 3 April 2025, an owner who wants to begin tourist-rental activity in a property governed by the Horizontal Property Law must obtain the community of owners’ prior express approval. Under the current consolidated Horizontal Property Law, the decision requires three-fifths of all owners representing three-fifths of the participation quotas.

The same majority may approve additional common charges of up to 20%, and that charge decision is not retroactive. A tourist activity that was already lawfully operating before the change may continue under the applicable sector rules. Ask a lawyer to confirm how these provisions apply to the property and any existing activity.

Property and operating requirements

Municipal compatibility and the responsible declaration

Tourist registration does not override municipal planning. Before the Andalusian filing, obtain any municipal licence, declaration or compatibility confirmation required for the address.

The electronic declaración responsable submitted to the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía identifies the property, cadastral reference, authorised capacity, owner and operator. It also includes declarations about urban compatibility, public-protection status, community restrictions and the periods in which the tourist service will operate.

Providing inaccurate essential information or failing to maintain the required conditions can lead to cancellation. Treat the filing as a legal declaration, not an automatic approval of an unsuitable property.

Documents to prepare

The exact submission depends on the property and operator, but the current filing pack may require or request:

An up-to-date nota simple showing the dwelling’s legal nature and description
Municipal compatibility evidence, licence or declaration where required for the address
Community statutes, certificate and prior approval where applicable
The document authorising an operator who is not the owner
Representation authority when another person files for the owner
Municipal padrón evidence for room-by-room letting
The required annex or authorisation from all co-owners where the property is jointly owned

Use the Junta de Andalucía’s official VUT guidance as a starting point, then confirm the current property-specific list with the town hall and a qualified professional.

Capacity, floor area and bathrooms

At least 14 m² of built main-use area per authorised guest
At least 25 m² of total built main-use area
No more than four guests per bedroom
Two bathrooms when authorised capacity exceeds five guests
Three bathrooms when authorised capacity exceeds eight guests

These requirements come from the official Andalusian framework; municipal rules and the individual property documents must also be checked.

Cooling, heating and safety equipment

When the declared operating period includes May, June, July or August, bedrooms and living rooms must have cooling, centralised or non-centralised, using fixed or portable equipment. When it includes December, January, February or March, those rooms must have heating, also centralised or non-centralised and fixed or portable; incandescent heaters and equipment burning flammable liquids or gases are not permitted. The property must also have the required furniture and equipment, a first-aid kit, smoke detection near the kitchen and a fire extinguisher.

Guest service and complaint information

The rules also cover cleaning between stays, bedding and towels, guest and community information, complaint forms, operating instructions and a telephone contact available 24 hours for incidents affecting the stay.

Regional registration and municipal compatibility

Town-hall rules differ and may change. In Málaga city, a municipality-wide suspension of new VUT registrations took effect on 23 August 2025, initially for up to three years or until the proposed planning change was approved sooner. A broader interim PGOU measure took effect on 25 July 2026, limiting lodging use as an alternative or compatible use in residential zones while the planning amendment proceeds; the municipal notice describes transitional treatment for certain earlier applications. Fuengirola applications may face an independent-access requirement, so confirm the current position for the exact property with the town hall or a qualified adviser. For Mijas, Benalmádena and Marbella, eligibility still requires address-specific planning confirmation; do not rely on a general statement that licences are “open.”

After eligibility is confirmed, explore our local management information for Mijas, Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Marbella.

National registration: 2026 legal update

Real Decreto 1312/2024 originally created a state procedure for a single rental register and registration number for short-term rentals. Three Supreme Court judgments in May and June 2026 annulled that procedure and the obligation to register in the Property or Movable Property Register to obtain a number for offering short-term rentals online. The annulments include Article 5, Articles 8–10, relevant parts of Articles 1, 2 and 6, and other provisions or references to the single register elsewhere in the decree. See the BOE consolidated text and the published judgments dated 19 May, 21 May and 1 June 2026.

Do not treat those rulings as ending regional registration, municipal planning controls, guest-reporting duties, platform rules or any other applicable obligation, and do not confuse the affected state framework with the Andalusian VUT registration code. Because requirements can change, confirm what applies on the advertising date with a qualified lawyer or gestor, the relevant public authority and the platform concerned.

Guest registration and reporting

Accommodation operators also have guest-documentation and reporting duties under Real Decreto 933/2021. Confirm the responsible person, submission workflow and data-retention process before the first booking.

How SunnyCoast HomeStays can support owners

SunnyCoast HomeStays is not a law firm and does not grant or guarantee a licence. We can help identify the documents and property-specific questions to take to the town hall and your lawyer or gestor, coordinate the agreed registration workflow and manage practical operating requirements once eligibility is confirmed.

Once your property’s eligibility has been confirmed, explore our holiday rental management in Mijas or holiday rental management in Fuengirola. Discuss your property and management requirements with SunnyCoast.

Registration is only one part of the operating budget. Read our guide to holiday-rental management costs on the Costa del Sol or explore our Costa del Sol property management service.

Official-source check: SunnyCoast checked this page internally against the official sources linked above on 8 September 2026. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Rules and filing requirements may change; obtain property-specific advice from a qualified professional.