Spain: Property owners of unlicensed holiday rentals in Andalusia, Spain, could now face fines of up to €600,000 [£496,700] under a new legal framework aimed at tackling overtourism and protecting local communities.
The Sustainable Tourism Law, approved on 18 February, introduces a tiered system of fines ranging from €2,000 [£1,656] to €100,000 [£82,780] for serious violations, with the most severe breaches carrying penalties of up to €600,000. Previously, the maximum fine stood at €150,000.
Authorities plan to use advanced technologies and data analysis to enhance enforcement, while local councils will now have the power to approve or reject applications for short-term rental properties.
Properties previously exempt under the 2012 Tourism Law will now be classified alongside hotels and traditional tourist accommodations.
The law also introduces stricter guest registration requirements, mandates owners to declare holiday rental usage, and establishes designated tourist zones to manage urban space.
Additionally, the requirement that towns must have at least 100,000 residents to be classified as tourist municipalities has been removed.
Andalusia hosted 13 million tourists last year, 12 per cent more than in 2022 and surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Tourism accounts for over 15 per cent of the region’s economy, but the growth of short-term rentals has contributed to a housing crisis according to local authorities, with property owners prioritising tourists over long-term tenants.
Seville, with around 117,000 homes and 620,000 rooms listed for short-term rental stays, has seen growing pressure to regulate the sector.
Last August, the city council proposed cutting off water to a reported 5,000 illegal holiday rentals operating in the city as part of drastic measures.
Regional tourism minister Arturo Bernal said that the law aims to ensure tourism keeps playing a key part in the economy while promoting sustainable growth.
He said: “It is a law that puts people, coexistence, and the principle of hospitality at the centre.”
Bernal said that a new decree addressing holiday rental regulations is expected in the coming weeks.
On a national scale, Spain’s central government issued a royal decree in October to establish a single national register for short-term rental properties.
The law, which came into effect on 2 January, makes it obligatory for short-term rental properties to register with one central digital service and obtain a code for them to list on any platform such as Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com.
The decree was also signed by President Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party [PSOE] and the Council of Ministers, as the government seeks to confront illegal renting and the ‘over-tourism’ phenomenon which has sparked widespread protests from citizens across the country who are concerned about available housing supply and the cost of living crisis.
Landlords are obliged to obtain their registration number [to be renewed on an annual basis], submit the required information and provide online booking platforms with their code in order to list on them successfully. The platforms themselves must ensure that the landlords identify their properties with their own unique code and display them visibly on any listing.
The registration process is carried out through Spain’s professional body for property registrars, the Colegio de Registradores.
