Requirements to rent a home as a tourist apartment

Each Autonomous Community and the municipalities have their own regulations on the requirements to rent a tourist apartment.

Once the procedures have been completed, the home will have an essential registration number to legally register on the Internet portals for the rental of flats.

More and more people choose to rent their home as tourist accommodation. In addition, Internet platforms have facilitated this type of operation and have become a very interesting alternative source of income. Making the decision to lease this way means meeting different requirements than if you choose to do the same, but with an apartment or house destined to be the habitual residence.

To comply with these conditions, the first thing is to know the legal requirements of the Autonomous Community where the property to be exploited under said regime is located.

These regulations refer to issues such as urban aspects (for example, having a certificate of habitability or that it is a farm intended entirely for that activity, which has direct access from the public highway), about the facilities, the obligation to have a sheet claims, 24-hour attention services … Some autonomous regions, such as Andalusia, the Basque Country, Murcia or Extremadura allow you to register an entire apartment or just a room, in other cases tourist services in the area must be offered …

Most communities also allow a permanent residence to be rented occasionally to accommodate tourists. The exceptions to this rule are Asturias, La Rioja, Castilla y León and the Community of Madrid. The latter is the strictest in its laws, since it typifies this use as a serious offense.

Municipal legislation must also be taken into account, since practically all municipalities require a municipal license. Then, in turn, this permit is required by the regional administration to complete the registration of the house as a home for tourist use.

A final administrative level to consider is that of the community of neighbors where the house is located, and especially the regime contained in the statutory norms. The owners must give their approval at the meeting. In addition, it must be taken into account that in Aragon, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, La Rioja and Galicia it is allowed to include statutes on farms that expressly prohibit the presence of tourist flats.

When these procedures have been completed, the dwelling in question will be registered in the register of dwellings for tourist use of the corresponding Autonomous Community. From that moment on, the house will have a registration number with which to identify itself on the Internet portals.

Although depending on the territory, there will also be other requirements to identify the floor. For example, it is mandatory to show a sign on the façade that identifies it as a “tourist home” except in Catalonia, La Rioja or Andalusia.

In addition to these legal requirements, you must also have the specific taxation that applies to tourist apartments. The Tax Agency is especially attentive to compliance with the standard and has taken steps to expose those properties that do not have the relevant license for these activities. It is worth remembering that the tax penalty in these cases covers between 50% and 150% of the amount that has not been declared.