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.
Andalusia regulates eligible holiday homes as viviendas de uso turístico (VUT). The current framework is based on Decreto 28/2016 as amended by Decreto 31/2024.
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.
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.
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.
These requirements come from the official Andalusian framework; municipal rules and the individual property documents must also be checked.
When the property operates from May through August, habitable rooms must have fixed cooling. When it operates from December through March, they must have fixed heating, subject to the decree’s exceptions. The property also needs the required furniture and equipment, a smoke detector near the kitchen and a fire extinguisher.
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.
Town-hall rules differ and may change. Málaga city introduced a municipality-wide suspension of new VUT registrations from 22 August 2025 for up to three years while planning rules are revised. Fuengirola has applied an independent-entrance restriction to relevant applications. 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.
Real Decreto 1312/2024 originally created a state single-registration procedure and registration number for short-term rentals. In May and June 2026, Supreme Court judgments annulled that procedure and the decree’s references to the registration number. The BOE consolidated text was updated on 18 July 2026.
Do not confuse the annulled state procedure with the Andalusian VUT registration code. The national position is evolving, so owners should confirm current state, regional and platform requirements with the Land Registry and a qualified lawyer or gestor before advertising.
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.
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.
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.