Gerdi Arst
The short version
Since 2024, three layers of rules decide whether a home on the Costa del Sol can be let to tourists: the Junta de Andalucía's decree, the community of owners, and a national registration number. None of them is a formality, and two of them can say no. Check all three before you buy, not after.
Layer one: the Junta de Andalucía
Decreto 31/2024 of 29 January, published in BOJA no. 24 on 2 February 2024 and in force from 22 February 2024, rewrote the rules for viviendas de uso turístico. Two changes matter most for a buyer.
- Town halls may limit the number of tourist homes by zone, sector or building for reasons of general interest, using published, objective criteria.
- A home whose community statutes expressly prohibit tourist use cannot be registered for it. Where a management company operates the home, that company is the registered operator in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía and answers to the administration for it.
Decreto-ley 1/2025 of 24 February 2025 added a further tool: a town hall can suspend new tourist-home authorisations while it draws up the planning rules that will limit them, to avoid a rush of applications in the meantime.
The regional register is the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía. A home must be registered there before it is advertised.
Layer two: the community of owners
Ley Orgánica 1/2025 amended article 17.12 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal with effect from 3 April 2025. A community can now prohibit or restrict tourist letting by a three-fifths majority of owners who also hold three fifths of the quotas. Before the reform, a prohibition needed unanimity. Under the new wording, an owner who wants to start tourist letting needs the community's express approval by that same majority.
Activity that was already lawfully under way is not removed retroactively. That is why an existing registration in the seller's name is worth more than a promise that "the building allows it".
Layer three: the national register
Real Decreto 1312/2024 of 23 December, published in the BOE on 24 December 2024, created the Registro Único de Arrendamientos and the Ventanilla Única Digital, applying EU Regulation 2024/1028. The decree entered into force on 2 January 2025 and its obligations have applied since 1 July 2025: a short-term let cannot be marketed on an online platform without its registration number.
What to check before an offer
- The community statutes and the minutes of the recent general meetings. Is there a prohibition, a pending vote, or a majority that could reach three fifths?
- The town hall's current position for that municipality and zone. Several town halls in the province have used the powers above, and positions change. Ask for the current one in writing.
- Whether the seller holds a registration, in whose name, and what happens to it on sale.
- Whether the home meets the technical conditions the decree sets. The operator you appoint will sign for them.
- The alternative. Long-term and seasonal letting under the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos does not need a tourist registration. For many homes it is the better plan.
Where Espa fits
We do not put "licensed" on a listing unless the registration has been checked: in whose name, on what date. When you shortlist a home to let, we go through the three layers with you and write down what we found, so the decision rests on documents rather than on a listing headline.
Sources
Junta de Andalucía, Decreto 31/2024 (BOJA no. 24, 2 February 2024). Junta de Andalucía, Decreto-ley 1/2025 (24 February 2025). BOE, Real Decreto 1312/2024 (24 December 2024). BOE, Ley Orgánica 1/2025, disposición final cuarta. All retrieved 5 September 2026; links in the source list.
