Costa del Sol Short-Let Rules 2026: VFT Registration, the 3/5 Community Veto and the Sanction Scale

A furnished home on the Costa del Sol can be legally short-let in 2026 only if the owner holds three independent authorisations, all valid at the same time: a Junta de Andalucia registration in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucia, an ayuntamiento-level urbanistic title (licencia urbanistica or declaracion responsable de cambio de uso) under Decreto 28/2016 as modified by Decreto-ley 1/2025, and an express resolution of the comunidad de propietarios under article 7.3 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal. Missing any one of the three is a sanctionable infraccion. The rules are not new in 2026, but the sanction scale and the LPH veto are sharper than at any point in the previous decade, and the May 2026 annulment of the Spanish single rental register has reshaped which compliance steps actually run.

Do you need a community vote to short-let a flat in Andalusia in 2026?

Yes, where the flat sits in a comunidad de propietarios under the Ley 49/1960, the owner must obtain express approval of the community before the dwelling is first used as a vivienda de uso turistico. Article 7.3 of the LPH, inserted by Disposicion Final tercera of Ley Organica 1/2025, de 2 de enero (BOE-A-2025-76, in force from 3 April 2025), makes the community approval a precondition for the activity. The community can refuse by a 3/5 majority of all owners, can impose conditions, and the presidente can require the immediate cessation of any turistico use run without that approval. The 3/5 threshold is the same majority required to amend the estatutos, and it is the most-cited new number in any 2025-2026 VFT conversation in Spain.

What does the Junta de Andalucia VFT registration actually cover in 2026?

The VFT registration in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucia confirms the property meets the substantive requisitos of Decreto 28/2016 (capacity, equipment, habitability, accessibility, signage, telephone for guest notices, identification of the explotador). It does not, on its own, authorise the activity. Decreto-ley 1/2025, de 24 de febrero (BOJA num. 41, 3 March 2025) added article 6 modifications requiring, in addition to the regional registration, a compatible urbanistic title issued by the ayuntamiento. The Consejeria de Turismo cancels the registration if the ayuntamiento notifies it that the property is incompatible with the PGOU or with the sector-specific urban regulation; in practice this is the most common reason a previously registered VFT loses its inscription in 2026.

What does the 2026 sanction scale actually look like?

The sanction regime is the framework set out in articles 10 and 11 of Decreto 28/2016, as modified by Decreto-ley 1/2025. The current scale, as published by the Junta in late 2025, runs as follows.

Category	Lower bound	Upper bound	Closure of property
Leves (minor)	0 EUR	10,000 EUR	None
Graves (serious)	10,001 EUR	100,000 EUR	Up to 6 months
Muy graves (very serious)	100,001 EUR	600,000 EUR	6 months to 3 years

The 2025 reform moved the leves ceiling from 2,000 to 10,000 EUR and the graves ceiling from 150,000 to 100,000 EUR but raised the muy graves ceiling to 600,000 EUR; clandestine turistico activity is a muy graves infraccion. The combination of a fine and a closure order is the realistic outcome for an unregistered or non-compliant VFT, particularly if the property is on a platform listing (Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo) that the Junta has ordered withdrawn.

Which Costa del Sol town halls can refuse a new VFT in 2026?

Article 6 of Decreto 28/2016 as modified by Decreto-ley 1/2025 allows any ayuntamiento to declare a zona saturada and to suspend the authorisation of new VFTs in that zona, and to set per-zona limits on the share of dwellings that can be used as turistico housing. The Costa del Sol councils most active in 2025-2026 are Marbella, Malaga, Estepona, Torremolinos and Mijas, each of which has signalled or applied limits in specific barrios. A buyer weighing a buy-to-let cannot assume a new VFT will be authorisable; the local PGOU and the Consejeria de Turismo’s per-municipality map should be checked before completion, alongside the buy-to-let net yield work in the cost pillar which already factors the compliance cost into the bottom line.

Is the Spanish single rental register (NRA / NRUA) still required in 2026?

No. Real Decreto 1312/2024, de 23 de diciembre, which created the national Registro Unico de Arrendamientos and the NRA / NRUA host number, was annulled by the Tribunal Supremo in sentencia 620/2026 of 21 May 2026 on the ground that the State lacks competence to create a single short-let register where tourism is a regional competence. The NRA / NRUA is not currently a compliance step, and platforms have rolled back the data submission. Andalusia has not replaced it with a regional number, so the VFT registration in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucia remains the operational licence.

How does a compliant VFT registration work in practice in 2026?

The current path on the Costa del Sol, in order, is: (1) confirm the estatutos of the comunidad de propietarios permit turistico use and call the junta to vote under LPH 7.3, with the 3/5 majority target; (2) confirm the property is compatible with the ayuntamiento PGOU and, if a cambio de uso is required, file the declaracion responsable or apply for the licencia urbanistica; (3) file the declaracion responsable in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucia via the Junta’s sede electronica, attaching the cadastral reference, the explotador details, the comunidad approval, and the ayuntamiento title; (4) once the registration number is issued, list on platforms with the registration number visibly in the listing. The full process typically runs 30 to 60 working days from a clean file, and the registration carries a standard renewal cycle; the common mistakes pillar covers the compliance mistakes that close buy-to-let exits when this stack is incomplete.

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.