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The Government Takes the First Step to Create a Registry for Temporary Rentals
The Council of Ministers took the first step yesterday to create a state registry of temporary and tourist rentals with the aim of combating fraud. Thus, it put the royal decree regulating the new tool out for public consultation, which will require properties intended for online marketing on platforms to be registered. This registry will ensure that the property meets legal requirements to function as a vacation or seasonal rental, and it will be given an identification number necessary for advertising.
The mechanism will start operating on January 2, 2025, but in a testing phase and, therefore, voluntary for property owners.
“In practice, it will be impossible to market properties that do not comply with the regulations on the platforms,” said the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, at the press conference following the Council of Ministers. Compliance with the law will be monitored through the new state platform where properties operating as tourist rentals or being rented out by rooms for short-term periods must be registered: the Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals. “Property owners will have to request the identification, and there will be a 15-day period to verify that the regulations are being followed,” added Rodríguez. Sources from the Ministry of Housing acknowledge that this process will have a cost for landlords, although the exact amount is yet to be determined.
The new platform will be connected with the Property Registry. In the case of temporary rentals, it will be verified that there is a valid reason for this type of lease—such as relocation for work, study, illness, etc.—and that the rented property is not the tenant’s primary residence. For tourist rentals, the necessary licenses will have to be obtained, and the property will need to comply with the relevant regional and municipal regulations. Furthermore, it will be ensured that the rental is not located in a building where the community of neighbors has prohibited vacation rentals.
Once the application is formalized, a provisional code will be provided, valid for the 15-day period during which the submitted documentation is reviewed. Ministry sources clarify that European regulations require offering this initial code to ensure compliance