Renting Out Your Costa del Sol Property: Andalucía Tourist Licence Rules

There is a particular hour on the Costa del Sol, just after the beach umbrellas fold and before the restaurants fill, when an empty terrace feels like a waste. The light turns honeyed, the sea goes pewter, and owners who spend part of the year elsewhere begin to wonder whether someone else might be enjoying the view in their absence, and paying for the privilege.

It is a reasonable thought. Holiday letting has long helped second-home owners on this coast cover their running costs. But in Andalucía, letting a home to tourists is a regulated activity, not a casual arrangement, and the rules have tightened in recent years. Understanding them before you buy is the difference between a property that pays its way and one that quietly cannot.

This guide sets out the framework in general terms. Regulations are revised regularly and vary by town, so treat it as a starting point for proper advice, not a substitute for it.

What the tourist licence actually is

In Andalucía, a home let to visitors for short stays is classed as a vivienda con fines turísticos, commonly shortened to VFT. Before you can advertise or accept a booking, the property must be registered with the regional tourism register, the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (RTA). Registration produces a reference number, and that number must appear on every advertisement, whether on a booking platform, your own website or a noticeboard.

Registration is made by a responsible declaration: the owner confirms that the property meets the regional requirements and takes responsibility for that statement. The authorities can and do inspect, and unregistered or non-compliant lets risk substantial fines. The regional decree governing these homes was updated in 2024, raising the minimum standards a tourist property must meet, so a flat that qualified a decade ago should not be assumed to qualify today.

Alongside the regional register, Spain has introduced a national registration system for short-term rentals, intended to give platforms a single verifiable number for each listing. In practice, owners now need their paperwork in order at both levels before a listing can go live.

The standards your home must meet

The requirements are practical rather than glamorous, and they are worth reading closely. Broadly, a registered tourist home must:

• Hold a valid occupancy licence — the licencia de primera ocupación or equivalent, confirming the property is legally habitable.
• Be properly furnished and equipped for the number of guests it is declared for.
• Offer adequate climate control and ventilation, with specific expectations depending on the type of room.
• Provide guest information, including contact details and house rules, and a complaints procedure.
• Register guests in line with the national requirements for accommodation providers.

The exact list, and the details within it, are set out in the current regional decree. A good local lawyer or licensing gestor can audit a property against it in a single visit, and it is far cheaper to do this before purchase than after.

The community of owners now has a say

For anyone buying an apartment, this is the change that matters most. A 2025 reform of Spain's horizontal property law means that starting a new tourist let in a building governed by a community of owners now requires the community's express approval. Communities may also have restrictions written into their statutes.

The consequence is simple: an apartment's rental potential depends not only on the flat itself but on its neighbours. Before you commit, ask to see the community statutes and recent meeting minutes, and ask directly whether tourist lets are permitted, already operating, or under discussion. A villa on its own plot avoids this layer entirely, which is one reason detached homes command attention among buyers with letting in mind.

Towns can now draw their own lines

Andalucía has given municipalities greater power to limit new tourist homes, whether by neighbourhood, by building or by setting conditions on new registrations. Several coastal towns have used, or debated using, those powers, particularly in dense historic centres where residents feel the pressure most. The picture shifts, so the only reliable answer for any specific address is a current check with the town hall.

That local variation is what makes the choice of area so important.

Marbella — Picture the whitewashed lanes of the Old Town at dusk, bougainvillea spilling over balconies and the clink of glasses rising from the Plaza de los Naranjos. Marbella's year-round draw, from the Golden Mile to its beach clubs and marinas, has long underpinned a mature holiday-letting market, and with maturity comes scrutiny of where new licences fit. Our Marbella area guide explores the neighbourhoods in detail, and it is worth reading alongside your lawyer's report rather than instead of it.

Estepona — Further west, the mood softens: flower pots lining every doorway in the old quarter, a long seafront promenade, the Rock of Gibraltar sometimes visible on the clearest mornings. Estepona has grown markedly in profile as a family destination, with a steady pipeline of new developments along its coastline. New-build communities are worth particular attention here, because a development's statutes are often being written as you buy, and the rules on letting are something to establish from the outset. Our Estepona area guide sets out its character, and from there the conversation naturally turns to the homes themselves.

Tax: the part that is not optional

Rental income from a Spanish property is taxable in Spain, whether or not you are resident, and non-resident owners file their own returns on that income. You may also have obligations in your home country. Tourist letting can additionally bring local tax and reporting duties. Specialist tax advice, ideally covering both jurisdictions, is money well spent before the first guest arrives.

Two fixed points apply to any purchase made with letting in mind. Andalucía's transfer tax (ITP) on a resale purchase is 7%. And Spain's Golden Visa was abolished in April 2025 — buying property no longer grants residency, so an investment property is exactly that, and nothing more in immigration terms.

Buying with a licence in mind

If letting is part of the plan, it should shape the search from the first viewing, not be bolted on afterwards. A few questions to carry into every conversation:

• Is the property already registered as a VFT? If so, confirm the registration is current and understand what happens to it on a change of ownership.
• Does it hold a valid occupancy licence? Without one, registration is not possible.
• What do the community statutes say? And has the community voted on tourist lets?
• Does the municipality restrict new registrations in this street or district?
• Does the property meet the current regional standards, or what would it cost to bring it up to them?

This is the kind of detail we care about at Beyond Blue. We are an online agency, but a deliberately human one: we keep a considered selection of homes and new developments, and we walk alongside our clients from first thought to front door, including the moment when someone needs to ask the awkward question about a community's minutes.

Finding the right home to let

We would rather point you to a short list of homes that genuinely fit a letting plan than to an endless catalogue. Tell us the area, budget and type of property you have in mind, whether a lock-up-and-leave apartment near Marbella's beaches or a detached villa outside Estepona, and we will share current listings alongside what we know of each one's letting position. In the meantime, you can browse our Costa del Sol property for sale to get a feel for the market.

The terrace at golden hour is still the dream. The licence is simply the key that lets someone else enjoy it, legally, while you are away.