Obtaining a Tourism Licence

In most Spanish autonomous communities, it is compulsory to have a Tourism Licence to rent properties out to tourists, or as short-term rentals for less than 3 months. 

Each autonomous community has their own set of rules for regulating the holiday rental market in their region. Those that require a Tourism Licence are: Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Basque Country, Galicia, Community of Madrid, Murcia, Community of Valencia, and Castilla y Leon. 

The Decree involving tourist accommodation in Andalucia requires the submission of a Responsibility Statement to the Regional Ministry of Tourism, in other words, a Tourism Licence. 

Properties that are rented for two months or more in a row to the same person, are not tourist accommodations, but residential rentals. When applying for the Tourism Licence, the information and documentation provided must be accurate and honest, as in Andalucia they check and inspect the property. 

Since 2016, some of the biggest rental websites such as Booking.com, Airbnb, HomeAway etc, ask for a Tourism Licence Number. They have even started removing adverts for properties located in autonomous communities that require a Tourism Licence, due to the companies receiving very high fines for advertising “illegal tourism properties”. This doesn´t affect those who already have a Tourism Licence and registered the Tourism Licence Number with the rental website previously. 

There are two main consequences for illegally renting out your property in Spain. First of all, many cities have begun carrying out inspections, and issuing fines if there isn´t a Tourism Licence. The fines can be thousands of euros. 

Also, if you have insured the property, the policy could be invalid if they find you are renting the property out illegally. Therefore, they will not pay out for any damages. 

If you are a Resident in Spain you must declare your rental incomes yearly with your Annual Resident Tax Declaration. 

If you are a Non-Resident you must also pay taxes in Spain if you want to rent out your property legally. You will have to pay Rental Tax which is paid every quarter, the cut off date is the 20th of January, April, July and October, but only if you have received income from renting the property out in that quarter. The tax is slightly higher for Non-EU Non-Residents. 

Declaring the rental tax allows you to advertise the property and take bookings safely without risks. 

Another advantage of legally renting out your property is that you can deduct some of the expenses. For example, if you have a property manager, cleaner, or gardener you can offset these expenses. 

If your property is registered and it is modified, or you cease the activity it is important to notify the Tourism Board. Failure to do so can result in heavy fines. 

Once a property is registered with the Tourism Board, it is also necessary to register it with the Guardia Civil. They require copies of photo ID for each person staying on holiday and this has to be uploaded on their website at the start of a visit..

We can assist you with registering your property for a Tourism Licence with the Tourism Authorities and Guardia Civil.  

Other Services we provide

There are so many other matters that we can help you with, they are almost too numerous to list.

From SIM Cards and topping up mobile phones to the various licences required including tourism, fishing and dangerous dogs. We can help with utility companies and get you a digital signature.

If the time comes and you need to leave Spain, we can help with all that too.