On May 19, 2026, the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court annulled the national short-term rental registry. The state lacked the authority to create a registry that overlapped with those of the autonomous communities. The national registration number, required since July 1, 2025, to publish a listing on Airbnb or Booking, is no longer necessary. Almost all online guides still claim the opposite.
What is mandatory today
Four levels of authorization are required: approval from the condominium association, registration with the autonomous community registry, municipal planning compliance, and display of the regional number on the platforms. The national level has been eliminated. No authorization from one level replaces one from another.
The national register, chronology of a cancellation
Royal Decree 1312/2024, published in the Official Journal on December 24, 2024, established a single register and entrusted the College of Registers with the assignment of a mandatory number. Seventeen months later, only the technical aspects remain.
Ruling 620/2026 responds to an appeal by the Valencian Generalitat. Three other Supreme Court decisions, issued between May 27 and June 4, 2026, confirm the same position. The Council of State had warned of this jurisdictional risk before the decree was adopted.
What has been cancelled: the single registry procedure and the requirement to register with the property registry to obtain a number. What remains: the single digital window and the data transmission obligations imposed on platforms. The practical consequence can be summed up in one sentence: control returns to the autonomous communities, where it already resided.
The elimination of the national registration number does not remove any regional obligations. Independent registries existed before the decree and continue to operate. A property without regional registration remains illegal, exactly as before.
The co-ownership agreement, the real lock
This is the most consequential change, and it has largely gone unnoticed amidst the ongoing saga of the land registry. Organic Law 1/2025 reformed the law on horizontal property ownership. Since April 3, 2025, the logic has been reversed.
Situation | Before April 3, 2025 | Since April 3, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
Principle | Permitted unless expressly prohibited | Prohibited except with express permission |
Majority required | Three-fifths to ban | Three-fifths to authorize |
Approach | None with the neighbors | Request submitted to the general assembly |
Common expenses | Normal share | Possible surcharge of up to 20% |
The majority is twofold. It requires three-fifths of the co-owners, and these same co-owners must represent three-fifths of the ownership shares. A minority of large units is not sufficient, nor is a majority of small units.
Owners who were already operating their business regularly before April 3, 2025, in accordance with the tourism regulations of their region, are not affected. They retain their rights under the conditions stipulated by those regulations.
Since April 2025, tourist rentals in co-owned properties are prohibited by default. It is no longer up to the neighbors to object, but up to you to obtain their agreement.
A point that is often misunderstood deserves to be clearly stated. An administrative license does not create a right in relation to the condominium association. The Supreme Court reiterated this in 2026: a municipal or regional authorization does not override a prohibition stipulated in the building's bylaws. You can possess all the official documents and still be acting illegally with respect to your neighbors.
What the autonomous community demands
Each autonomous community has its own tourism regulations, and the differences are considerable. No national summary can replace local verification. Here are the points to check, in order, regardless of the region.
- The existence of a regional register of tourist accommodations and the number it assigns.
- The form of the approach: responsible declaration in most regions, prior authorization in some.
- The technical requirements of the accommodation, minimum surface area per occupant, ventilation, air conditioning, equipment, fire extinguishers.
- The certificate of habitability and its validity.
- Municipal restrictions, urban planning schemes, quotas per district, moratoria on new licenses.
- The obligation to provide traveler data to security forces.
The most touristic municipalities have tightened their regulations, regardless of their region. A quota for saturated neighborhoods, a municipal moratorium, or a ban on residential buildings blocks the project even if the region would allow it.
What remains at the European level
European Regulation 2024/1028 of 11 April 2024 remains fully in force. It was not affected by the Spanish decision, which concerned the allocation of internal powers, not EU law.
This regulation requires platforms to collect the housing registration number, verify it through surveys, and transmit activity data, housing addresses, and listing addresses to the authorities. The single digital window, which serves as the technical connection point between the platforms and the administration, has, moreover, survived the annulment.
In other words, complete transparency regarding the activity remains. The number displayed on the advertisement is now the regional number instead of the national number, but the administration still sees who is renting, where, and for how many nights.
The order of checks before buying
The sequence is just as important as the content. Many projects fail because the most critical check was done last.
Order | Verification | Or |
|---|---|---|
1 | Condominium bylaws and meeting minutes | With the trustee, before the deposit contract |
2 | Quotas and moratoria in the district | Town planning department |
3 | Conditions of the regional register | Tourist portal of the autonomous community |
4 | Technical compliance of the dwelling | Visit with a professional |
5 | Taxation of the activity | Tax advice before renting out the property |
Point 1 comes first because it is the quickest to verify and the most difficult to correct. A building whose bylaws prohibit tourist use cannot be opened, regardless of the quality of the administrative file.
How InvestPilot reads it
A property can be excellent for long-term rentals but unsuitable for short-term tourist rentals, without anything in the listing indicating this. Regulations are a key factor in profitability, not a final formality.
Strategy | Concerned | Concrete impact |
|---|---|---|
Primary residence | No | No impact, unless you plan to rent out the property while you are away. |
Second home | Partial | Renting out a property for a few weeks a year is subject to the same rules as a year-round activity. |
Long-term rental | No | A different system, governed by the law on urban leases. |
Short-term rental | Yes | All four locks apply. Missing just one renders the project unusable. |
Renovation and resale | Partial | A building closed to tourist use reduces the number of buyers on resale. |
InvestScore does not assign a short-term rental rating to a property located in an area where business is closed. You see the restriction before visiting, not after signing.
This article describes the state of the law as of August 7, 2026, and does not constitute legal advice. Regional and municipal regulations change rapidly. Before undertaking any transaction, have your situation confirmed by a professional in the relevant autonomous community.