Spain has just slammed the brakes on rogue tourist rentals again: New digital registry leaves landlords sweating.

Starting this Tuesday, July 1, every holiday flat, short-term let, and room-for-rent must get a government-issued licence plate — or rather, a digital registration number — before it can be listed online.

Dubbed the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (One-Stop Digital Rental Registry), this new holiday housing system is the Spanish government’s latest weapon in the war against housing fraud. The rules come after a six-month grace period that ended in a flurry of paperwork. Since January 2, nearly 200,000 owners have scrambled to sign up — but just 90,046 have been approved so far, with another 92,044 applications stuck in bureaucratic limbo.

The Ministry of Housing says this shiny new registry, which goes live in full force this July, aims to flush out fraudsters, force transparency, and cool a rental market that’s been boiling over.

And don’t think you can quietly list your secret Airbnbs — the law orders platforms like Airbnb, Booking, and others to clearly show registration numbers on every ad and report activity each month (or every three months for small platforms). They’re also on the hook for random checks to make sure every listing has its official ID.

A licence plate for flats

Think of the new registration number like your rental’s licence plate: it’s unique, mandatory, and good for just a year. When the clock runs out, landlords must reapply and show a list of anonymised rental contracts plus any changes in how they’re operating. Fail to comply? You might as well toss your keys in the bin — penalties include fines and, in severe cases, revocation of rental licences.

Speaking of fines, the PSOE has floated eye-watering penalties of up to €600,000 for platforms that fail to display these numbers on listings. That’s not a typo — six hundred grand. This proposal, part of a broader push by left-wing parties like Sumar, ERC, Bildu, Podemos, and BNG, aims to give short-term tenants the same protections as traditional renters. But the bill is still crawling through Congress.

Fraud fears — or fraud fighting?

The move comes amid growing anger that short-term and seasonal rentals are gobbling up apartments once meant for locals. According to Idealista data, permanent rentals fell 3% last year while seasonal lets soared 25%, sparking fears that landlords are using loopholes to dodge Spain’s rent control laws.

Meanwhile, Spain’s largest trade union, UGT, has filed a complaint with the Labour Inspectorate, blasting the short-term rental industry as “structurally fraudulent” and calling for deeper investigations, including the number of workers and employment conditions behind these lucrative flats.

But not everyone’s cheering. The Spanish Federation of Tourist Apartments (Fevitur) claims the registry will backfire by driving rentals underground, boosting the black market, and stepping on the toes of regional governments.

Thousands of dodgy listings axed

Still, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs isn’t wasting time. Recently, Booking.com purged 4,093 illegal ads after a direct order from the government, proving officials mean business when they say they’re cleaning house. Thousands more suspicious listings are under investigation.

And it’s not just tourist flats under the microscope: temporary rentals — often used to dodge tenant protections — have mushroomed, too. Many unsuspecting renters don’t even realise they’re signing short-term contracts that leave them with fewer rights.

What’s next?

While this new registry gives Spain a powerful tool to monitor rentals, there’s one glaring omission: no new national penalties have been finalised. For now, existing fines from state, regional, and city regulations apply, meaning landlords and platforms could face anything from a slap on the wrist to losing their right to rent.

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Spain’s new rental registry rules kick in from 1 July 2025—but do you really need to register? It all depends on how and where you advertise your property.

Like many others working in and around the Spanish property market, I’ve been trying to understand the new Registro Único de Arrendamientos (Unique Rental Registry) and Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals) introduced under Real Decreto 1312/2024, whose provisions shall apply as of 1 July 2025. The confusion stems from a key question: Who actually needs to register?

To help clarify, I spoke with José Luis Aguilar, partner at Broseta law firm in Barcelona and an expert in real estate regulation. His answer, in a nutshell: the obligation to obtain a registration number applies if you use—or intend to use—an online platform as defined in the Royal Decree, meaning one that handles bookings and payments, or has access to data on rental activity such as number of nights and guests. Think Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo. But that’s not quite the end of the story.

Who must register?

According to José Luis, the regulation “applies specifically to short-term rental properties offered through online platforms that allow guests to enter into contracts at a distance with hosts.” That’s how the decree defines a ‘platform’—and it’s based directly on EU Regulation 2022/2065.

So if you advertise your holiday rental on Airbnb or a similar site that enables instant bookings or online payments, or that is in a position to collect data (number of nights and number of guests), you’ll need to register your property and obtain a unique registration number from the new system. This number must be shown in your listing from July onwards.

What if you only use listing sites like Idealista?

This is where it gets a bit murky. Many people advertise rentals on sites like Idealista or Fotocasa, which simply publish classified ads and do not allow bookings to be made online. Do those properties need to register too?

José Luis explains that, in principle, no. “Under the current legal framework, platforms that merely connect hosts and guests without facilitating direct transactions or that are not in a position to collect data related to the rental are excluded from the scope of the regulation,” he says. In fact, the property porta Idealista has publicly declared that the new obligations do not apply to them.

This interpretation has now been confirmed by the Ministry of Housing. In its written reply to Broseta’s inquiry, the Ministry stated that a platform must allow contracts to be entered into at a distance in order to fall under the obligations of the new law. If it does not, registration is not mandatory.

So do you need to register or not?

Here’s where it gets a bit more complicated—and where some caution is advised.

While the letter of the law appears to exempt rentals not advertised on qualifying platforms, José Luis warns that “any interpretation that formally fits an exclusion but undermines the intent of the regulation could be considered contrary to its spirit and even constitute a breach of law.” In other words, just because it looks like you don’t have to register doesn’t mean you’re entirely in the clear.

He also highlights that the nature of the platform matters. If it evolves to include booking functionality, even via third-party integrations, or has access to booking data (even if it doesn’t formalise contracts), it might fall back within the scope of the regulation.

What’s the safest course of action?

If you only advertise your property offline or on non-booking sites like Idealista, you are not currently required to register. But José Luis recommends erring on the side of caution: “Given the evolving nature of online platforms and the enforcement goals behind the regulation—namely transparency and combatting the black market—it may be wise to register anyway, just to be on the safe side.”

And of course, if you plan to advertise on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo or similar platforms from July 2025 onwards, registration is not optional—it’s the law.

In conclusion

Not all holiday or seasonal rentals in Spain must register under the new system. The requirement applies to those who advertise on online platforms that enable direct booking and payment. If you don’t use those platforms, you’re probably off the hook—for now.

But this is a new regulation, open to interpretation and possible changes. As José Luis puts it: “The key is how the platform actually operates, not just how it presents itself.” Wise words to bear in mind as Spain adjusts to its latest layer of rental regulation.

Guide: Spain’s new short-term rental registry and Ventanilla Única Digital