Holiday letting on the Costa Blanca and the licence

Buyers on the Costa Blanca often assume that when they buy a property that has been let to holidaymakers, the permission to let passes to them with the sale. Since August 2024 the Valencian Community has dealt with this case expressly, and differently.

The buyer registers the property afresh, under the rules in force at that point and with a new report from the town hall. Whether that report can be obtained should be settled before you sign.

What counts as a holiday let

Strictly speaking, there is no “licence” here. The Valencian Community’s tourism law (Ley 15/2018) recognises the tourist dwelling (vivienda de uso turístico): a complete property let for tourist purposes to the same guest for no more than ten consecutive days. Letting by the room is prohibited.

The precondition is a favourable town hall report on planning compatibility (informe municipal de compatibilidad urbanística para uso turístico). With it, the operator files a formal declaration (declaración responsable, a statement made on the operator’s own responsibility) with the regional tourism register, the Registro de Turismo de la Comunitat Valenciana, quoting the cadastral reference. This registration is what listings usually call the “licence”.

Three levels, three responsibilities

The region keeps the register, sets the minimum requirements for the property and penalises breaches; it can hand its power to impose fines to town halls that apply for it.

The town hall grants or refuses the compatibility report. The tourism law allows it to cap the number of tourist dwellings per building or per zone through its land-use planning, on criteria published in advance.

Central government sets the rules on property in shared buildings, and with them when the owners’ community has to give its consent.

Five years, then a fresh review

Registration is valid for five years. To renew it, the operator, with the owner’s consent, files a new declaration in the month before it expires, with an updated favourable report from the town hall and under the requirements in force at that time. Without renewal, the property is removed from the register.

For properties registered between July 2018 and August 2024, the five years run from 8 August 2024, so until August 2029. They, too, then have to pass the town hall’s review again.

What happens when the property changes hands

If ownership of a registered tourist dwelling changes after 8 August 2024, the current requirements apply to the property and to the new owner, regardless of when the property was registered. The buyer files a new declaration with a favourable town hall report. Since July 2026 the only exception is inheritance, where notifying the change of ownership is enough. This is set out in the implementing regulation (Decreto 10/2021) as worded by Ley 3/2026 and Ley 5/2026.

The current requirements include, for example, liability insurance that is not limited to residential use, and handing over keys without key boxes on the public street.

A registration number in the sales particulars therefore describes the seller’s position. What counts for you is whether the town hall will issue the report to you.

The town hall has a say

Alicante city council suspended the issuing of compatibility reports for new tourist dwellings across the whole municipality by a full council resolution of 19 December 2024, published in the regional government’s official gazette (DOGV) on 13 January 2025. The suspension is limited to a maximum of two years and is meant to prepare new rules with their own density limits for each zone. Before that, Altea (January 2024, whole municipality) and Dénia (August 2024, town centre) had adopted temporary suspensions.

Whether a suspension that covers “new” tourist dwellings also catches the buyer of a property that is already registered is a question to put to the town hall in writing before you buy.

There is deliberately no list by town on this page, because any council resolution can overtake it. Establish the position for your address with the town hall at the time of your purchase.

So does the owners’ community

Since 3 April 2025, the national law on property in shared buildings (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, amended by Ley Orgánica 1/2025) has provided that anyone who wants to let to tourists in a building divided into separately owned units needs the express prior consent of the owners’ community. The resolution requires three fifths of all owners, who must also hold three fifths of the ownership shares. With the same majority, the community can restrict or prohibit such letting, and set community charges up to 20 per cent higher for those properties. The resolutions do not apply retroactively.

Owners who were letting with a registration before 3 April 2025 may carry on under the conditions of tourism law, under a transitional rule. Its wording names that owner; it does not mention a later buyer. At the same time, the Valencian registration requires a declaration that the consent rules of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal have been complied with. If you are buying in a building or development with an owners’ community, ask your lawyer to establish in advance whether you need consent of your own.

The number belongs in every listing

Anyone advertising a tourist dwelling must state its exact location and its Registro de Turismo number in every advertisement. Leaving the number out is a serious offence (a fine of €10,001 to €100,000). Letting or advertising without registration is a very serious offence (€100,001 to €600,000). Platforms must obtain proof of a valid number before publishing.

The regional government publishes the list of registered tourist dwellings as open data, with number, address and cadastral reference. There you can check whether a number you have been given exists and matches the property on offer.

In May 2026 the Supreme Court annulled the national rules on an additional single register (Registro Único de Arrendamientos, Real Decreto 1312/2024) insofar as they concern the registration procedure and the registration number. The number that counts remains the one in the Valencian tourism register.

What to check before you buy

If letting is part of your calculation, this check belongs before the preliminary contract (contrato de arras, the deposit agreement), not after it.

Is the property on the register under that number, and do the address and cadastral reference match? When does the registration expire? Is the town hall currently issuing favourable compatibility reports for this address, and does that apply to you as a new owner? Has the owners’ community given its consent, or has it restricted letting? Does the property meet the current minimum requirements?

The answers are found in documents, not in assurances. “It has always been let” is no substitute for a town hall report. How this check fits into the rest of the purchase is covered in the guide to buying property on the Costa Blanca.

Long-term letting is a different matter

The rules above concern short-term tourist letting. Letting a home as a residence on a longer-term basis follows Spanish tenancy law and needs no tourist registration. If you cannot get a town hall report, you are not left with a property you cannot let; you are looking at a different calculation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to let to holidaymakers on the Costa Blanca?

Yes. The property must be entered in the Registro de Turismo de la Comunitat Valenciana, and that requires a favourable compatibility report from the town hall. Letting to tourists without registration is a very serious offence.

Does the registration pass to me when I buy?

Not automatically. If ownership changes after 8 August 2024, you file a new declaration with a favourable town hall report. Only on inheritance is notifying the change of ownership enough.

Can the owners’ community stop holiday letting?

Yes. Since 3 April 2025, new tourist letting in buildings divided into separately owned units needs the community’s express prior consent, by three fifths of the owners and of the ownership shares. Such resolutions do not apply retroactively.

How can I tell whether a property on offer is registered?

From the registration number, which must appear in the listing, and by checking it against the regional government’s official list. The number does not tell you whether you, as the buyer, will obtain a registration of your own.

Do I also need a national registration number?

In May 2026 the Supreme Court annulled the national rules on the registration procedure and the number of the Registro Único de Arrendamientos. The Valencian number is what counts.