{"id":96981,"date":"2026-09-18T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/?p=96981"},"modified":"2026-09-18T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:00:00","slug":"tourist-licence-andalusia-vut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/tourist-licence-andalusia-vut\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourist Licence in Andalusia (VUT) 2026: Step-by-Step Guide for Marbella Owners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia.webp\" alt=\"Apartment keys on a house-shaped keyring resting on a navy leather folder by a window over Andalusian rooftops\" class=\"wp-image-96978\" srcset=\"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia.webp 1600w, https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia-805x453.webp 805w, https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cover-tourist-licence-vft-andalusia-1320x743.webp 1320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to rent your Marbella apartment to holidaymakers, it has to be registered as a tourist home with the Junta de Andaluc\u00eda. The rules have changed a lot since 2024: the licence has a new name, communities of owners now have a say, a national register was created and then annulled by the courts, and platforms are checking registration numbers more strictly than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This guide sets out where things stand in September 2026, in plain English, from a company that registers and runs tourist apartments in Marbella every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The short version<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The licence is now called VUT<\/strong> (vivienda de uso tur\u00edstico). You will still see the old name, VFT, everywhere. New registration codes look like VUT\/MA\/12345.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Registration is free and online:<\/strong> a declaraci\u00f3n responsable filed with the Registro de Turismo de Andaluc\u00eda (RTA). You can start renting once it is filed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>In an apartment building, you now need your community&#8217;s approval<\/strong> for a new tourist let (3\/5 of owners), under the 2025 reform of the Horizontal Property Law.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The national \u00absingle registration number\u00bb was annulled<\/strong> by Spain&#8217;s Supreme Court in May 2026. Your Andalusian RTA code is the number that matters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Every guest must be registered<\/strong> with the Spanish authorities (SES.Hospedajes) within 24 hours of arrival.<\/li>\n<li><strong>There is no tourist tax<\/strong> in Andalusia or Marbella in 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What counts as a tourist home (VUT)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under Andalusia&#8217;s Decree 28\/2016, as amended by Decree 31\/2024, a VUT is a home offered regularly, for a price, through tourism channels or online platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com. Lets of more than two months in a row to the same tenant are not tourist lets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some homes cannot be registered at all: public-protection housing (VPO), homes whose community statutes expressly prohibit tourist rentals, and, as a rule, properties in an irregular planning situation (asimilado a fuera de ordenaci\u00f3n).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The requirements your apartment must meet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Space and capacity:<\/strong> at least 14 m\u00b2 per guest and 25 m\u00b2 in total; a maximum of 15 guests for a whole home. Two bathrooms above 5 guests, three above 8.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Air conditioning and heating:<\/strong> air conditioning in bedrooms and living room if you rent between May and August; heating if you rent between December and March.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Safety:<\/strong> a first-aid kit, a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Guest service:<\/strong> a phone line available 24 hours, cleaning at every check-in and check-out, bedding and a spare set, a basic equipped kitchen and local tourist information.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Complaint forms<\/strong> (hojas de quejas y reclamaciones) available to guests.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Declared operating periods:<\/strong> you declare when the home will be rented. Renting outside those periods counts as unregistered activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Community of owners: the approval you now need<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the change that matters most for Marbella, where most holiday apartments are in buildings and gated urbanizations. Since 3 April 2025, the reformed Horizontal Property Law (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, articles 7.3 and 17.12) says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An owner who wants to <strong>start<\/strong> a tourist let needs the community&#8217;s <strong>prior, express approval<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>That decision needs a vote of <strong>three-fifths of all owners, who must also hold three-fifths of the ownership shares<\/strong>. If there is no vote, there is no approval.<\/li>\n<li>With the same majority, the community can limit or condition tourist lets and raise that owner&#8217;s share of common costs by up to 20%.<\/li>\n<li>Tourist lets that were already operating legally before the reform can carry on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Before you buy an apartment to rent to tourists, or before you register one,<\/strong> check your community&#8217;s statutes and minutes, and ask the administrator whether approval has been given or is needed. In large urbanizations it can matter which community (building or complex) has to vote; take advice if it is not clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to register, step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Check eligibility:<\/strong> planning status, community statutes and (for new lets) your community&#8217;s approval.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prepare the home<\/strong> to meet the requirements above: air conditioning, safety equipment, inventory.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get a digital certificate<\/strong> (or use a representative who has one, such as your management company).<\/li>\n<li><strong>File the declaraci\u00f3n responsable<\/strong> online with the Registro de Turismo de Andaluc\u00eda. It is free, and you declare your operating periods.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Receive your registration code<\/strong> (VUT\/MA\/\u2026). You can operate from the moment the declaration is filed; the formal inscription follows.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Show the code in every advert<\/strong>, including every Airbnb and Booking.com listing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Set up guest registration<\/strong> with SES.Hospedajes before your first guest arrives.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Changes of owner, representative or operating periods, and closing the VUT, are notified to the same register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The national registration number: annulled in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From July 2025, Spain required a national \u00absingle registration number\u00bb (under Royal Decree 1312\/2024) for short-term lets advertised on platforms. On 19 May 2026 the Supreme Court annulled that register, ruling that the State had no power to create a register duplicating the regional ones. The ruling was published in the BOE on 8 June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What this means in practice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your <strong>Andalusian RTA code is the registration number<\/strong> that counts. Keep it on every listing.<\/li>\n<li>The EU short-term rental regulation (2024\/1028), in force since 20 May 2026, still requires platforms to check that listings show a valid registration number. Missing or invalid numbers get listings removed: in 2025 Spain&#8217;s consumer ministry ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 listings.<\/li>\n<li>Platforms had not updated their forms at the time of writing, so you may still see a field for the national number. Watch for changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Guest registration: SES.Hospedajes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since December 2024, every tourist accommodation, including holiday apartments, must send each guest&#8217;s details (up to about 21 data fields) to the Ministry of the Interior through the SES.Hospedajes system within 24 hours, and keep the records for three years. The Supreme Court ruling does not affect this obligation. Failing to register guests is a serious offence, with fines from \u20ac601.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Marbella restricting new tourist lets?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not as of September 2026. Decree 31\/2024 allows Andalusian councils to set limits by building, area or period, and Marbella, which has around 15,000 registered tourist homes, announced plans in 2025 for a municipal register and a stricter line between residential and tourist use in its new urban plan. We have found no moratorium or zoning ban in force. Neighbouring M\u00e1laga city did approve a three-year moratorium on new tourist homes in residential areas in July 2026, so the direction of travel is clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Junta is also cleaning up its register: in February 2026 it cancelled more than 13,000 registrations across Andalusia. Keep your details, operating periods and advertising in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Taxes in brief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Non-resident owners<\/strong> pay non-resident income tax (IRNR, form 210): 19% for EU\/EEA residents, who can deduct expenses, and 24% for others, without deductions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Resident owners<\/strong> declare the income in their Spanish income tax return (IRPF).<\/li>\n<li><strong>VAT:<\/strong> tourist lets are generally VAT-exempt unless hotel-type services are offered. A proposal to apply 21% VAT to tourist lets was postponed in July 2026 and is not in force at the time of writing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tourist tax:<\/strong> none in Andalusia or Marbella in 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fines at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Infringement<\/th><th>Typical range<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Renting without RTA registration<\/td><td>\u20ac2,001 \u2013 \u20ac18,000 (serious), up to \u20ac150,000 (very serious)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Not registering guests with SES.Hospedajes<\/td><td>\u20ac601 \u2013 \u20ac30,000<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Listing without a valid registration number<\/td><td>Listing removed by the platform<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Indicative ranges under Andalusian tourism law and Organic Law 4\/2015.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How we help owners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the owners we work with, we check eligibility, prepare the apartment, handle the registration, list the code correctly on every channel and register every guest, so the property is compliant from the first booking. If you are weighing up whether a tourist let is worth it for your apartment, start with the numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/owners.marbellabanussuites.com\/valoracion\/\">Request a free valuation of your property<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/owners.marbellabanussuites.com\/resultados\/\">See what our portfolio earned in 2025<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/how-much-does-a-holiday-apartment-earn-in-marbella\/\">What a holiday apartment earns in Marbella<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The owner portal is currently in Spanish; our team replies in English, Spanish and French.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is the VFT licence still valid?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VFT is the old name. Since the 2024 reform the official term is vivienda de uso tur\u00edstico (VUT), and new codes start with VUT. If you already have a registration, keep it active and its details up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much does a tourist licence cost in Andalusia?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Filing the declaraci\u00f3n responsable with the RTA is free. The real costs are preparing the apartment (air conditioning, safety equipment) and, if you use one, a representative or manager to file and maintain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can my community of owners stop me renting to tourists?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For new tourist lets, yes: since April 2025 you need the community&#8217;s express approval by a three-fifths majority. Lets that were already operating legally before the reform can continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do I still need the national registration number?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court annulled it in May 2026. Your Andalusian RTA code is the number to show on listings, although platforms may still display a separate field while they adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This guide is general information based on the rules in force in September 2026, not legal or tax advice. Regulations are changing quickly: check your specific case with a lawyer or tax adviser before acting.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to register a holiday apartment in Marbella in 2026: the VUT (formerly VFT) requirements, your community of owners\u2019 approval, the annulled national register number, guest registration and fines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":96978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-owners"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96981"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96993,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96981\/revisions\/96993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marbellabanussuites.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}