Holiday-let licences in Andalucía: the 2026 rules
By David Los · October 2026 · Investment
Holiday-let licences in Andalucía in 2026 are not a single paper from the town hall. Since February 2024 the region registers viviendas de uso turístico as VUT, not the old VFT label, and the tourism registry only accepts a property after urban planning rules and, for most buyers, the community of owners have been cleared. A national change from April 2025 then raised the bar for new tourist lets inside residential buildings: three fifths of owners and three fifths of participation quotas must vote in favour before a new VUT can lawfully start. This guide maps the order of checks, the registration steps, and what buyers on the Costa del Sol should read before they assume Airbnb-style income.
Do you need a licence to run a holiday let in Andalucía?
Yes. Letting a furnished home to tourists for short stays for profit is a regulated tourism service in Andalucía, not a normal long-term tenancy under the Urban Leases Act. You must register the property in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía through an electronic declaración responsable, obtain a VUT code, and display that code in every advert and booking channel. Since the consolidated rules were updated in 2025, you also need proof that municipal urban planning allows tourist use where the town requires it, and for a new let in a shared building you need express community approval at the three-fifths majorities that apply from 3 April 2025 under Spain's horizontal property law. Operating without registration, outside declared seasons, or against a valid community ban can lead to cancellation of the registry entry and fines under Andalucía's tourism law.
Andalucía regulates viviendas de uso turístico through Decreto 28/2016 as amended by Decreto 31/2024 (in force 22 February 2024) and Decreto-ley 1/2025 on housing; registration is by declaración responsable to the regional tourism registrySource: Junta de Andalucía, consolidated Decreto 28/2016 · April 2025 · View market data →
What changed with Decreto 31/2024 (VFT to VUT)?
Decreto 31/2024, published in the Andalucían Official Gazette in February 2024, retitled the product as vivienda de uso turístico (VUT). Existing registry numbers that began with VFT were treated as VUT in the system; owners had to relabel marketing materials and complete adaptation filings on the Junta's deadlines for operating periods, capacity, bathrooms and equipment. The substance for buyers is unchanged in one respect: it is still a tourism registration with inspection and cancellation powers, not a passive "licence" you file once and ignore. For income underwriting, pair this page with our Costa del Sol rental yields guide, which measures long-term rents only, and the property investment guide for tax and exit context.
- Confirm the property is not social housing and is not in a building whose deeds already ban tourist accommodation.
- Obtain municipal urban-planning clearance where your town requires a licence or declaración responsable of change of use before tourist letting.
- Secure express community approval for a new VUT if the building is under horizontal property law and the let starts after the April 2025 community rules apply.
- File the declaración responsable with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía and receive the VUT code.
- Declare operating periods each year, equip the home to Decreto standards, and register guest partes with the police traveller log rules.
How do you register a VUT in Andalucía?
Registration is online through the Junta's tourism procedures portal. The declaración responsable must identify the property by cadastral reference, state maximum guest capacity, name the operator with a valid legal title to exploit the home, confirm compatibility with urban planning and attach the community authorisation where required. When the declaration is accepted, the registry assigns a code such as VUT/MA/00000 for Málaga province. That code must appear on contracts handed to guests and on every online listing. The registry notifies the local ayuntamiento; if the town hall considers the use breaches municipal planning, it can trigger cancellation. After Andalucía's Decreto-ley 1/2025 housing measures, the declaration must also reflect that any required municipal licence or change-of-use step has been completed first where urban law demands it.
Article 9 of Decreto 28/2016 requires an electronic declaración responsable before advertising a vivienda de uso turístico; the registry assigns a VUT code and communicates the inscription to the municipal authoritySource: Junta de Andalucía FAQ on tourist homes · 2026 · View market data →
Can your community block a new holiday let?
For new tourist lets in a comunidad de propietarios, Spain's horizontal property law as amended by Organic Law 1/2025 allows the community to approve, limit, condition or prohibit the activity by a double three-fifths majority: three fifths of owners and three fifths of participation quotas. The reform took effect on 3 April 2025 and the Ministry of Housing stated that agreements are not retroactive, so existing registered VUTs are not automatically closed by a later vote, though disputes and enforcement against unregistered letting still run on their own facts. Andalucía's tourism decree already required a declaration that the community had expressly authorised the let; the 2025 state law makes that vote easier to require and harder to bypass for newcomers. Before you buy an apartment to let, read the meeting minutes, not only the listing agent's assurance.
From 3 April 2025, installing a new vivienda de uso turístico in a community of owners requires express approval by three fifths of owners representing three fifths of participation quotas under the amended horizontal property lawSource: Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana · April 2025 · View market data →
What technical rules does a VUT have to meet?
| Rule | Requirement | Why it matters for buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 14 m² built area per guest place; minimum 25 m² dwelling; max 15 places whole home, 6 for room lets | Small one-beds may not qualify for large groups portals show |
| Bathrooms | 2 full bathrooms if more than 5 places; 3 if more than 8 | Renovation cost if you inherit an older layout |
| Operating periods | Declare seasons annually; letting outside declared periods is treated as clandestine | Off-season personal use must be planned in the filing |
| Advertising | VUT registry code on all promotion and platforms | Platforms may delist codes that are cancelled |
| Guest records | Traveller registration rules apply as for hospitality establishments | Operator liability sits with the named explotador |
What does this mean on the Costa del Sol?
Most investor buyers here target apartments in Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Estepona, Marbella or Mijas municipalities where tourism pressure is highest and communities are actively voting. Municipal ordinances can cap VUT numbers per building or zone even when the regional registry would otherwise accept a file. That local layer is why two identical apartments on the same street can have different letting rights. Use live price and stock context on our Fuengirola and Estepona price pages, then inspect a specific comunidad before you treat gross nightly rates as income.
Costa del Sol active resale inventory: 7,874 listings, coast median asking €656,000 at €4,736/m²; apartments median €486,500 at €4,845/m² across 3,600 listingsSource: Hometailor market data · October 2026 · View market data →
Ownership taxes, non-resident returns and the difference between EU and non-EU rental tax treatment sit in our costs of owning property guide. Browse current stock on the wider Costa del Sol listings hub once you know the legal stack is clear.
Written and reviewed by
Founder & Head of Research, Hometailor · Last reviewed: October 2026
Born and raised in Sweden, David has spent over a decade analysing property markets on the Costa del Sol and has guided hundreds of international buyers through Spanish purchases in English, Swedish and Polish. He writes and reviews all research content at Hometailor, and triangulates everything before it publishes: independent lawyers, agents inside and outside Hometailor, and the live market data behind this site.
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