Three reasons why homeowners are rejected by Spain's holiday let registry

Thousands of landlords who own short-term tourist rental properties in Spain have had their applications to register them rejected and have bee unable to get the identification code necessary to carry out the registration.

As of July 1st 2025, all homeowners who want to let out their properties out as tourist or seasonal rentals in Spain must have registered on the Single Rental Registry if they want to list it on platforms such as Airbnb, Idealista and Booking.com.

However, by the last day before the deadline just 215,438 applications had been received out of a total 368,295 homes that Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) identifies as short-term or temporary lets.

José Miguel Tabarés, from the Association of Registrars, told Spanish property website Idealista that an average of 30,000 requests were registered daily in the lead up to July, although since then the volume has stabilised at around 10,000-15,000 per day.

READ ALSO: GUIDE - How to register your tourist flat with the Spanish government

“It is logical to think that we have already passed the “boom”,” Tabarés said. Though while there may have been a ‘boom’ in applications, not all applicants have been successful, new figures have shown.

According to Idealista, so far from the more than 260,000 applications, some 22,000 have been denied.

As for the most common reasons for rejected applications, registrars have identified three main issues.

Firstly, according to comments made to Idealista: applications are turned down because “the tourist property does not have the relevant licence,” meaning it doesn’t hold the correct tourist use license and therefore cannot be used for short-term rentals.

Others are rejected because the property “does not have the approval of the owners' community with the required 3/5 majority,” referring to approval from neighbours in la comunidad.

Some applications have been turned down because “it is a protected property that cannot be used for any purpose other than as a habitual residence.”

According to Tabarés, there are other more minor cases that also prevent approval, such as when the application is made by someone who is not the legal owner of the property.

Applications must be accompanied by all the relevant documentation, including the cadastral reference and the exact address, the rental model (in other words, whether it's an entire property or rooms), the number of people to use the property, as well as full compliance with the requirements established by each regional government for setting up tourist rentals.

Many owners had difficulties with the process due to the wide disparity in criteria and processes between different registrar offices, sources familiar with the process told The Objective.

Foreigners have also had administrative issues, particularly those non-resident property owners who don't speak Spanish or don't have a digital certificate to streamline the process online.

The registration should be possible by digital certificate or in person at the Colegio de Registradores de España, and it can be done through a lawyer, gestor or agent. However, this has proven a problem for many foreign owners who aren't able to do so.

READ ALSO: Foreigners struggle to register their Spanish holiday lets by July deadline