Those who own property in Spain and (occasionally) rent it out to tourists will know that the regulations surrounding short-term rentals can be legally complex. To combat proliferation and tackle fraud, the central Spanish government approved a Royal Decree (Real Decreto 1312/2024). This decision introduced the national and unique short-term rental register (Registro Único de Arrendamientos / Número de Registro de Arrendamiento - NRA).
Now the Spanish Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) a line through that, however. With the recent ruling (Sentencia 620/2026) the court has the central register annulled.
What exactly is going on and what are the practical implications for your Spanish holiday home? We explain it for you.
Why was an NRA number needed?
The central government in Madrid wanted the register to create a unique national registration number (NRA) impose for any property offered through platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com. For this, they wanted the national property register (Registro de la Propiedad) and engage notaries/registrars as a control mechanism. For this, Madrid referred to a new European regulation (EU 2024/1028) requiring better data sharing.
The Supreme Court now states - following an appeal by the Valencia region (Generalitat Valenciana) - that the central government has overstepped its bounds with this.
Interestingly, this comes as no surprise to insiders. The Spanish government's top advisory council (Consejo de Estado) had already warned of 10 major constitutional problems in an exceptionally sharp opinion in December 2024. The government ignored this advice at the time, but is now being presented with the bill by the Supreme Court: the court confirmed that Madrid had violated the Spanish constitution.
Why did the Supreme Court intervene?
In Spain, regulations around tourism and housing are a exclusive competence of the autonomous regions (such as Andalusia, the Comunidad Valenciana, Catalonia or the Balearic Islands).
The Supreme Court ruled that the central state had no valid constitutional argument to establish the registry:
- It is no civil registry (like the normal property register), but an administrative control mechanism.
- It exceeds federal competence to coordinate only ‘general economic policy’. Indeed, in practice, the registry functioned as a de facto authorisation requirement which was dumped on top of the regional rules.
What has and has not been destroyed?
The judgment is a partial annulment. A very sharp line has been drawn between what the central government can and cannot do:
| Destroyed (May the central state NOT do it) | Respected (Remains in effect) |
| The central registry (NRA) and the obligation to apply for a national number through Madrid. | The digital single window (Ventanilla Única Digital): This platform remains in place to coordinate data between governments. |
| The role of national registrars (Registradores) to check whether you meet the tourism requirements. | The information duty for platforms: Airbnb, Booking, etc. still have to transmit data in line with EU rules. |
| The NRA number as a ‘disguised’ additional admission requirement to advertise. | Statistical data collection: The central state may continue to collect and share data with the EU for statistics. |
What does this mean concretely for you as a landlord?
Briefly: calm returns at regional level and administrative duplication is off the table.
Since the national NRA system has been cancelled, the focus for 100% remains on the rules of the autonomous region and municipality where your property is located:
- Do you rent in Andalusia, on the Costa Blanca, in Catalonia or elsewhere? Then you no additional federal number more to request.
- Your existing or new application regional tourism licence (licencia turística) remains the only valid and decisive document.
- The platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com) can no longer block your ads based on the lack of a central NRA number, as long as your regional licence is in order.
Regions and municipalities thus definitively retain the sole right to determine where, for how long and under what conditions rentals can be made within their borders.
