Tourist Rental Licences in Spain: VUT Used to Be Enough. Not Anymore.

If you’re planning a short-term rental on the Costa del Sol, the rules have become a lot more “layered” than they used to be. In Andalusia, VUT registration is still the foundation — but today, it’s not the only thing that matters.

Below is the updated reality, in the same practical, “what you actually need to do” way.

The “old world”: VUT tourist licence was the key step

Traditionally, Andalusia’s tourist rentals operated around one main requirement: VUT/VFT registration (commonly called “the VUT number” and on the platforms now called "Regional Tourist Licence" ). It’s typically obtained via a declaración responsable process with the Junta de Andalucía.

That is still essential — but major changes came after that.

What changed from 3 April 2025: “Express approval” by the community (3/5)

From 3 April 2025, Spain’s Horizontal Property framework introduced a much clearer rule for new tourist rentals: you generally need express approval from the community of owners, adopted with the double qualified majority of 3/5 of owners AND 3/5 of participation quotas.

Why this matters in practice:

• “No one complained” is not a strategy anymore.

• Communities gained stronger tools to approve, limit, condition — or effectively block — new tourist rental activity (depending on how decisions and documentation are handled).

  
  
  
  

The newer requirement: NRUA / NRA (Registro Único) — the “national” registration number

On top of regional rules, Spain introduced a national registration system for short-term rentals via Real Decreto 1312/2024: the Registro Único and the Ventanilla Única Digital. The identifier you get is often referred to as NRUA / NRA (you’ll see both labels used) and is also called National Tourist Licence.

The system becomes “fully active” and platforms start enforcing it from 1 July 2025 (this is the date most owners feel the change).

Requests are processed through the Colegio de Registradores / Registro de la Propiedad channels, and they even provide step-by-step official guidance for the application flow.

The “make-or-break” point: community statutes can trigger a denial by the Land Registry

Here’s where many owners get surprised.

Even if you’re confident about the regional (VUT) side, the Land Registry can still refuse to issue/assign the NRUA/NRA when there are registered restrictions — especially community statutes (estatutos) that prohibit certain uses/activities, and those restrictions are properly recorded.

In other words:

• It’s not only about “getting the number”.

• It’s about whether the property’s legal/registry reality allows it.

That’s why reviewing community statutes + any registered clauses + the way the community has voted and recorded decisions is no longer optional if you want a clean, scalable operation.

You need both numbers for Airbnb and Booking.com

If your goal is to run properly and publish confidently on the major platforms, today you should assume you’ll need:

• VUT (regional, Andalusia), and

• NRUA/NRA (national Registro Único number).

From mid-2025 onwards, the direction is clear: platforms and authorities are moving toward “no valid identifiers = no compliant listing.” 

Don’t gamble with compliance — outsource it to specialists

The framework has shifted from “one registration and you’re done” to a multi-layer system: region + state + community + land registry reality.

If you want this handled properly from day one, work with professionals who do this every week — not once in a lifetime. At Perfect Property Solutions we manage 40+ properties that meet the current criteria, and we can guide you through the full compliance path (including community/statute checks) so you can focus on performance, not paperwork.