22/05/2026
Today we have heard that the Spanish Supreme Court has overruled the Governments National Tourist Licence Law that came into effect a couple of years ago.
There is a sense of relief & also anger.
This law required those of us who rent out Holiday Apartments to apply for a new NATIONAL tourist Licence Number.
The existing Andalucian Tourist Licence Number was to be super-seeded and cancelled. Not valid anymore.
The new licence number created untold work, expense and confusion to all of us.
As we struggled to obtain the new number platforms such as Airbnb & Booking (necessary for the running of our business) threatened to de-list us.
Such was the difficulty in obtaining this new National number certain people appeared Online offering their services via blatant scaremongering for their own financial gain.
Once we had the new National Number certain Urbanisations refused to accept it due to a Community Vote declaring that no NEW LICENCES would be accepted..... despite us explaining that the 'New National Licence' was in reality and upgrade / substitute for a previous Andalucian Tourist Licence.
Hopefully the nightmare is now over thou the expense that this has cost us (has run into thousands) will never be recovered.
Here is a summary of the Ruling
Spain's Supreme Court has officially annulled the national registry for short-term tourist rentals (Ruling 620/2026), declaring that the central state lacks the legal authority to impose a uniform national registration number over existing regional laws.
The landmark ruling, handed down yesterday on May 21, 2026, strikes down a core component of Royal Decree 1312/2024, which had required all holiday let owners to obtain a nationwide "state registration number" to advertise online.
The immediate practical impacts for property owners, booking platforms, and the regulatory landscape include the following:
1. No More National Number Requirement
You no longer need to obtain a national registration number (the proposed Número de Registro de Alquiler) to legally market your property.
The Victory for Owners: Property owners who were facing de-listing or technical bottlenecks trying to secure this state identifier are now entirely relieved of the requirement.
The Legal Reason: The Supreme Court ruled that because tourism and housing are the exclusive constitutional competences of Spain's autonomous regions, the central government's national registry unfairly duplicated and infringed upon regional powers.
2. Regional Licensing Remains Strictly Mandatory
This ruling does not create a regulatory free-for-all. It simply keeps power local.
You must still fully comply with, obtain, and display the regional tourist licence number issued by your specific Autonomous Community (e.g., Andalusia, Valencia, Catalonia, Canary Islands).
Local town hall moratoria, urban zoning requirements, and neighborhood community (HOA) bans remain fully active and legally enforceable.
3. Airbnb and Platforms Must Still Share Data
The Supreme Court did not eliminate the data-reporting requirements for booking platforms.
What stays active: The Court upheld the provisions regulating Spain's single digital window (Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos) and the requirement for online platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com to transmit rental data to the government for tax and statistical tracking.
The Result: Platforms will still monitor your listings to ensure they carry a valid regional license number and will continue reporting your booking revenues directly to Spain's tax authorities.
