On July 1, 2025, Spain officially implemented new rules requiring all short-term, tourist, and temporary rental properties to be registered with a national system before being advertised online. This initiative, introduced by the Ministry of Housing, was designed to bring greater transparency and oversight to the booming short-term rental sector.
The new Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals assigns each registered property a unique registration number, which must be included in any online advertisement. Initially launched as a voluntary system six months earlier, the registration process became mandatory from July 1.
Major rental platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com are now legally obligated to display these numbers in their listings and report monthly data to the government. Failure to comply could result in significant fines.
The announcement triggered a surge in registration activity. Between January 2 and late June, nearly 200,000 applications were submitted, primarily for tourist rentals. Of these, around 90,000 were approved, approximately 17,600 were rejected, and over 92,000 were still pending. A particularly notable increase occurred after May 26, with over 125,000 applications submitted in the span of just one month.
Importantly, the new national registration system does not replace local permit requirements. Property owners must still obtain all necessary municipal licences before registering at the national level, adding another layer of compliance.
Labour-related regulations were also discussed. The General Union of Workers proposed requiring landlords to provide information about employment and working conditions, but this idea was deferred due to the need for broader legislative changes.
Once approved, a registration is valid for one year. Renewals require owners to submit anonymous records of all rental contracts signed during that period, along with any operational changes. This allows the government to monitor compliance and ensure properties are used as intended.
The government’s action was partly driven by the rise in illegal listings. Authorities uncovered thousands of unregistered properties advertised online. Just before the new rules came into effect, Booking.com removed 4,000 such listings following official pressure, while Airbnb faced similar scrutiny.
Despite pushback from groups like the Spanish Federation of Tourist Housing and Apartments, who criticized the system for potentially increasing bureaucracy and pushing landlords toward illegal rentals, the government defended the measures as necessary for combating fraud and easing housing shortages in popular tourist cities.
Spain’s new rental registration system aligns with forthcoming EU regulations, placing the country ahead of many of its European counterparts.
