The 2025 Andalusia Housing Law: Ley 5/2025 on VPO, VFT, vacant homes and what it changes for property owners

Ley 5/2025, de 16 de diciembre, de Vivienda de Andalucia is the first systematic codification of Andalusia’s housing law, entering into force on 24 January 2026. It replaces four earlier regional laws, overhauls the protected-housing (VPO) regime, suppresses the AVRA rental bond deposit, creates a mandatory estate-agent register and sets quantified vacancy thresholds for protected homes.

What is Ley 5/2025 and when did it take effect?

Ley 5/2025 is a single statute that consolidates Andalusia’s previously fragmented housing framework. The Andalusian Parliament approved it on 16 December 2025, the BOJA published it on 24 December 2025 (number 247), and it entered into force one month later on 24 January 2026, per its Disposicion Final Octava. The BOE republished the consolidated text on 8 January 2026 as BOE-A-2026-423, with a correction of errors issued in BOJA number 49 of 12 March 2026.

The law contains 118 articles, seven additional provisions, three transitory provisions, one derogatory provision and eight final provisions. Its stated aim is to unify and modernise regional housing rules, reducing legal uncertainty for owners, tenants and professionals. For property owners on the Costa del Sol, the practical changes touch three areas directly: rental administration, protected-housing obligations and estate-agent regulation.

Which laws does Ley 5/2025 replace?

The Disposicion Derogatoria Unica expressly repeals four earlier regional statutes: Ley 13/2005 (protected housing and land measures), Ley 1/2010 (the right to housing regulator), Ley 4/2013 (social function of housing, including the expropriation provision) and Ley 1/2018 (tanteo y retracto in evictions). The Reglamento de Viviendas Protegidas (Decreto 149/2006) survives in part, with selected articles repealed by the Disposicion Derogatoria and others adapted by the Disposicion Final Tercera, while the Disposicion Final Sexta keeps the remainder in force until full implementing regulations are issued.

The law also folds in the urgent measures from Decreto-ley 1/2025 of 24 February, which had introduced the town-hall short-let authorisation and the 60 percent community approval threshold for tourist use. Article 3 of that decree is expressly repealed, with its substance absorbed into the consolidated framework. Our dedicated Costa del Sol short-let rules 2026 guide covers the VFT registration and community veto mechanics in detail.

How does the new law change the rental bond deposit?

The Disposicion Adicional Sexta removes the Andalusian administration as custodian of rental bonds. From 24 January 2026, landlords no longer deposit the bond (fianza) with AVRA, the Agencia de Vivienda y Rehabilitacion de Andalucia. Contracts signed on or before 23 January 2026 retain the old deposit obligation; contracts from 24 January 2026 onwards do not.

Two points matter for owners. First, the bond itself still exists: article 36 of the national Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU) still requires one month’s deposit on residential rentals, and that is state law the region cannot touch. What disappears is the administrative deposit with the regional government, which was a paperwork burden unique to Andalusia. Second, AVRA will return previously deposited bonds as each contract ends, on the owner’s request, with a one-month administrative deadline. The Disposicion Final Segunda amends Ley 8/1997 to remove the regional bond references.

What does the law require of protected housing owners?

The protected-housing regime (Titulo V) carries the most binding obligations for individual owners. Three rules stand out.

First, a protected home must serve as the titular owner’s habitual and permanent residence. Article 161.3 defines this as a dwelling that does not stand empty for more than three consecutive months in a calendar year, save for justified and notified temporary absences. Second homes, unauthorised lets and tourist use are all prohibited.

Second, any sale, rental or transfer after the first adjudication requires either prior authorisation from the Consejeria de Vivienda (for sales) or a declaracion responsable justifying the transfer (for rentals). The registry inscription of a sale is conditional on that authorisation. The law also reduces the administrative burden on developers: the declaracion responsable replaces prior licensing in roughly 90 percent of procedures, though subsequent inspection is reinforced.

Third, the Disposicion Adicional Tercera sets quantified vacancy thresholds. A protected home is presumed empty if water consumption falls below 0.21 cubic metres per month (2.47 per year) or electricity below 24 kWh per month (291 per year). These figures, supplied by utility companies, serve as evidence in inspection and sanction proceedings. Our VPO subsidised housing guide explains the eligibility and purchase framework for foreign buyers.

What is the new estate agent register and who must join?

Titulo IV, Capitulo III creates the Registro de Agentes Inmobiliarios Especializados del Sector Residencial de Andalucia. It is public, free and mandatory for anyone who habitually and for payment intermediates, advises or manages the sale, rental, swap or transfer of residential property in Andalusia. The Disposicion Final Septima gives the Consejeria de Vivienda a maximum of two years from entry into force to stand the register up.

Entry requirements include recognised training or qualification (API licence, university degree, four years’ professional experience or colegiacion), at least 100 hours of specialised training in residential intermediation and protected housing for the principal and half the staff, professional solvency through financial guarantees or civil-liability insurance, and no criminal record related to real estate intermediation. Registration is via prior declaracion responsable, renewable periodically.

For buyers, the register is a consumer-protection mechanism: only listed agents can legally operate, and the administration can inspect and sanction unregistered practice. For agencies, it is a compliance deadline to track, since the two-year window means enforcement is coming.

How does the law treat vacant and illegally occupied property?

The law draws a clear line between protected and free-market housing on vacancy. For protected homes, the three-month rule and the consumption thresholds above apply, with sanctions for non-habitual use. For free-market homes, the law creates no new vacancy tax or surcharge; it instead focuses on incentives to bring empty homes into the rental market through public-private collaboration and municipal rental pools (Article 1366 of the BOE consolidated text).

On illegal occupation (okupacion), the law introduces a coordination system: a Comision de Coordinacion en Materia de Desahucios y Lucha contra la Ocupacion Ilegal and a Sistema Andaluz de Informacion y Asesoramiento. It also bars anyone convicted of occupation-related offences, or subject to a firm administrative eviction from public housing in the same municipality in the preceding five years, from accessing public or social housing for sale.

The sobreocupacion (overcrowding) provision classifies it as an inappropriate use when minimum habitability, safety or health conditions fail, with corrective and sanctioning measures. Municipalities must initiate proceedings when they become aware of an anomalous situation, subject to judicial authorisation for home entry.

What sanctions apply under the new regime?

The sanction scale (Titulo VIII) distinguishes general housing infringements from protected-housing infringements. The following table summarises the fine bands.

Category	General housing (Art 114)	Protected housing (Art 117)
Mild (leve)	Up to EUR 6,000	Up to EUR 3,000
Serious (grave)	EUR 6,001 to EUR 20,000	EUR 3,001 to EUR 25,000
Very serious (muy grave)	EUR 20,001 to EUR 60,000	EUR 25,001 to EUR 120,000

Accessory sanctions for serious or very serious protected-housing infringements include loss of public aid with interest, and a ban on promoting or participating in protected-housing developments for up to three years (serious) or six years (very serious). Article 117.4 singles out renting a protected home or public-housing unit for tourist use as warranting sanctions in the medium or higher degree. The law also grants municipalities sanctioning power over protected-housing qualification, unauthorised residential use, quality control and overcrowding.

What stays the same for foreign property owners?

For most international owners of free-market Costa del Sol property, the day-to-day impact is limited. The rental bond change removes an administrative step but does not alter tenant rights or contract terms, which remain governed by the national LAU. The ITP transfer tax on resale purchases stays at 7 percent under the Andalusia ITP 2026 rules. Community governance under the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal and the community fees regime is untouched by this regional law.

The real changes land on three groups: protected-housing owners, who face quantified vacancy enforcement; landlords and agents, who lose the AVRA deposit and gain the agent register; and municipalities, which gain sanctioning powers and must maintain demandant registers. Anyone buying a protected home should verify the post-adjudication transfer restrictions with an independent lawyer before committing.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.