New rental rules in Spain

[Margaret-Mary0]

Does anyone who hosts in Spain have any idea how the new "rental laws" affect Airbnb listings?  

To my understanding, if I rent out my house in Spain I have to jump through a load of hoops, such as obtaining a rental number from the local town hall, having air conditioning and heating fitted and reporting all guests to the local police station within 12 hours of their arrival!

Is Airbnb caught up in these new laws or is it outwith?  

Any comments or suggestions with this would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

[Martin333]

Hi

make sure you have the permission from your owner, best in writing. Depending on the region here in Spain laws a slightly different. But you are allowed to rent out a room in the flat / house you live in. I repeat you live in - important.

Best call/go to the local tourist info and ask about -alquilar alojamiento/habitacion en domicilios particulares - as home-share does not have a direct translation and often is misunderstood as timeshare.

Here in Galicia you do not need to register this BUT you may need to register with the Guardia Civil to register guests. Again best ask the local Guardia if they require this. Its done on-line if required.

Again clarify that this is a flat / apartment you live in permanently 

This is different to owning a flat / house and not living in it. These are now tightly regulated and nearly all regions forbid renting single rooms in these as that would be a "pension" or "hotel".

Hope this helps

Martin

[Susan1188]

You are absolutely right, everything you say is now a legal obligation  and you can add to your list hiring an accountant  and maybe a lawyer to do trimestriel tax returns and also paying your cleaners or property managers a living wage vat included with invoice all declared as they may come after you for that in case of an audit.  If you don’t live there no way you can justify a 30 Euro cleaning fee.

i don’t recommend trying to avoid any of this as things are extremely transparent now and they can go back at least 5 years if ever they catch you and there is a problem.

[Vonnie5]

Hi, in Madrid is it clear that only apartments with independent entrances will be granted a license? Anyone has recent experience on this? What about a unit that is on ground/ semi basement level but still need to go through the lobby but not needing to use the lift? Any first hand licensed experience would be grateful. It seems all is hearsay. Thank you.

[Samantha388]

As I live in the UK I found it quite difficult to register our apartment. In the end I had our lawyer do it for us as they are able to register the property on your behalf. However I have yet to find a solution of registering guests to the local police authority. Guest details are not given via airbnb. Has anyone managed to overcome this or suggest any solutions?

[Ged0]

Hi Samantha

This requirement is a hassle even for those of us who live here in Spain, as evidenced by the reports that only about 12% of owners of even registered properties are actually complying at the moment! I spent several months unsuccessfully trying to get an appointment at the Comissaria de Policia to get t1he password you need to log in for online guest registration.- I'll try again in a few months when I've summoned up the will to live again!

Do you have someone who meets your guests when they arrive? If not, it will be more difficult to comply with this. You could send them a form to fill in online in advance, but people are, not surprisingly, often unwilling to do this. 

However, there is a company here that has a system of checking-in using a mobile phone and they seem to have added a system for absent hosts using a Q-code. Have a look at their website: https://www.checkinscan.com/en/       

and see if that would work for you. I think you would still have to go, or get your lawyer to do so, to the police station to register initially.

[Hector173]

My wife is from Valencia (we live in the SF Bay Area) and we have been traveling to Valencia almost every summer since 1981. In 2001 we bought an apartment in Valencia because as our family grew, my in-laws apartment remained the same size and we needed space when we visit. We started renting the apartment out in 2002 to tourists for short stays. At first we had very little competition and the apartment was always fully booked all year and we made some great money, but as the online vacation rental websites started filling up, we got less clients (but summer always fully booked). The request for rental license that Airbnb sent out last month caused me to remove my advert. Now our apartment is back to what we initially bought it for, for us and friends to enjoy thruout the year. Renting it out now and keeping a listing on Airbnb leads me to believe that I will be fined or taxed excessively, even if I register it. Next time I'm in Valencia I plan to speak with the local authorities there to see what I can expect in taxes.  At that point I will decide what to do. This is happening everywhere tho. In San Francisco they are fighting Airbnb, and I heard that in Lake Tahoe the local residents are trying to ban all short term rentals.

[Artem18]

Gday, Hector! I hope you're well. I want to ask you about the situation with Airbnb in Valencia. I have been advised not to work with short term rent last week by Valencian property manager. He told me that the local authorities are no longer going to issue the touristic license "Registrar viviendas turísticas en la comunitat Valenciana" for any property in Valencia. Unfortunately, I have no other people in Valencia who I can trust at the moment. Have you got a chance to speak with local authoroties as you mentioned before? If you have any information about it, please, share it here. By the way, the authorities used to make some restrictions last years, but canceling ability to get a rental license is so irrelevant . I'll be very appreciate to you if you have some additional information. Thanks so much.

[Lana101]

Shouldn't we start some campaign against these greedy authorities that are killing rental apartment and now rooms business in Spain and other few parts of the world? They just saw that it makes some money ( which is good for local people ) and definitely hotel businesses have lobbied interest in it. Just tired of these fake initiatives and propaganda lying that poor people are suffering from tourists. They are doing it on purpose. I have lots of simple middle class friends that rented out their rooms and were very happy about it. Simple people, getting a bit of extra money to travel themselves/ All of them almost had no problems and met a lot of new interesting friends during this period! Government is acting in it's own interests in this case

[Scott502]

Now this is up and running I find registering guests the hardest thing to do - I am not based in Spain but we have someone to meet and greet. 

Is it not possible for AirBnB to collect the details (as ID is already verified) and pass them on, with permission. Without I wouldn't accept the booking.... As AirBnB are already passing on my financial information to the Spanish / Andalucian authorities it would seem possible... 

[Anonymous]

Hi, we live in a house in Granada (Andalucia) and rent out one of the rooms of the house. I am still confused on weather or not we have to register or not? Could someone please let me know thank you! 

[Kerri48]

I would definitely contact the authorities because it seems that here in Spain the rules change all the time and every situation is slightly different.  I am beginning to think its best to have a lawyer do everything that needs communication with the authorities to ensure you will not be fined.  The fine for missing a detail doesn't appear to be forgivable as they expect you should know and can be very large.  I dont know what impression Spain is trying to give the world with these onerous rules and regulations.  Strange.

[Ged0]

I know this answer comes a bit late but I thought this link might be a help to those unsure about tourist rental regulations in Andalucia

https://www.spain-holiday.com/rentalbuzz

has all the latest news on Andalucia and other regions. In answer to an earlier question, yes, you do have to register even if you are only renting out a room. There are exceptions if you are a casa rural  but these carry their own regulations.

[Pauline353]

Having spent a small fortune on my property so I could rent it out as a super host, I am now informed that NO tourists licenses are being granted in my area. Just s flat NO. I am in San Fulgencio ,,, those that already have a tourist license can continue to let but those that don’t can’t. Thus making it unlawful for me to rent out at all.  If caught renting out without a license it’s up to euros 7000 each time your caught!!!  The easiest way to get caught is via AirBnB as this is the first place they check.   On the bright side,,, my villa is looking fabulous,, just a shame I can’t share it!!!

[Artem18]

If anyone has any information about granting tourists license in Valencia or Malaga, please share it with community. Some property managers says that it is not possible to get a "Registrar viviendas turísticas en la comunitat Valenciana" for any appartment in Valencia city. Unfortunately, I don't have an oppotunity to ask the local authorities by myself these days.
It has been some restrictions since 2016 in Valencia, I know about a forbiddence to get a linense for appartments in the city center Ciutat Vella, then higher the forth floor wothout a lift. Now it looks like the authoroties forbid us to pay a taxes for renting out a property.

So I will be very appreciative to anybody who share an information about it. Thanks and good luck!

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