With tourism being the main driving force of Spain’s economy and many Andalusian regions being some of the most popular tourist hotspots, it comes at no surprise that many property owners on the Costa del Sol decide to venture into holiday rentals industry and let out their houses and apartments to the millions of tourists visiting the area year after year. 2017 saw another record figure in the number of tourists visiting the area and this trend is only going to keep growing.
Holiday rental of private properties can be a very lucrative business, but as any other industry it comes with its own laws and regulations. Andalusian government had worked on its own regulations aimed at standardising the holiday rental industry to meet the demands of tourists, and in May 2016 a new Decree came into force regulating the properties offered for holiday rentals. The above regulation addresses different type properties situated on the residential land and offered on a regular basis as tourist accommodation at a fixed price (properties on rural land and 3 or more properties by the same owner within the radius of 1 km fall under a different regulation). Later in 2018 a small amendment was made to also include the properties in small towns of less than 20’000 inhabitants, which previously didn’t match either rural or residential category, allowing them to register for holiday rental license, thus making it a more standardised regulation inclusive of all property owners.
Based on own knowledge and experience we must admit that the Andalusian law is significantly “softer” and simpler compared to many other regions of Spain (Balearic or Canary islands, Barcelona etc) allowing the activity to anyone as long as they comply with the regulations which are nothing than fair and are addressed at the benefits of both, the tourists and the owners. Failure to comply with the law may impact hefty fines starting from 2’000€ and going up to 150’000€ and even closure of the establishment.
Below is the list of requirements you and your property need to fulfil to obtain the Tourist Rental license:
Required documentation:
- First Occupation License, Title Deed, last IBI (rates) receipt
Other requirements:
- All rooms must have direct ventilation to the exterior or to inside patios and a system of darkening the windows (either blinds of shutters)
- The property must be adequately furnished and equipped with the appliances, fixtures and fittings required for immediate use and according to the number of accommodation places offered
- First aid kit available in the property
- All guests should be provided with tourist information about the location, leisure areas, restaurants, grocery stores, closest parking facilities, medical services, transportation, as well as maps of the city and entertainment guides.
- All guests should be provided with contact details of the owner or operator for any incidents
- All guests should have at their disposal clear information and instructions on the usage of appliances and installations, as well as internal regulations and restrictions if any
- Availability of Claims and Complaints book at guest’s disposal and a clearly positioned sign informing guests of the above
- Cleaning service on arrival and departure of each new guest.
- Linen, towels and household articles in proportion to the offered accommodation capacity, as well as a replacement set
In addition to the above, make sure holiday rentals are permitted by your Community of Owners, if there is one. Lately many Property Condominiums on Costa del Sol have taken a mutual decision to prohibit tourist rentals, in which case only the properties which were registered before this decision can continue operate as tourist lets.
Once you and your property comply with the above list and you have the required documents on hand you need to register for your Holiday Rental License by submitting the Responsible Declaration “Declaracion Responsable” in front of the Tourist Board of Andalusia. In this document you declare that you fulfil all above requirements and will be able to prove it during the inspection once it takes place. Now the Declaration is submitted you get your provisional (if submitted in paper form) or final (if submitted online with a digital certificate) Registry number which is the same as your Tourist License Number and you can legally start the activity of tourist rentals. Don’t forget to include the above Tourist License number in any advertisement of your property. This however is not all…
Once you have obtained your Tourist License you also need to register your property with the Local Police or Guardia Civil to fulfil your obligatory requirement of passing on ID details of each guest over 16 years of age. This can be done online once the property has been duly registered with the Local Police. Furthermore, a rental contract, even in its very simple form, needs to be signed with every guest and kept on file for the period of at least one year along with their ID details.
The overall procedure is not complicated and if you have a reasonably good command of Spanish you can attempt to do it yourself. Alternatively, if your tourist rental property is on the Costa del Sol, in the region between Malaga and Marbella and you wish to save yourself time and trouble - let Malaga Expat Consulting help you and obtain your rental property Tourist license in a matter of days.
We can help you along the whole process starting from advising on regulations, including inspection of the property if required, to getting your Tourist License number and registering you with the Local Police. Our fees compare competitively to the ones on the market and we pride ourselves on providing an outstanding service in a very professional and friendly manner. Get in touch to start the process now and avoid any obstacles in your new business venture on the Costa del Sol!