Spain court voids short-term registry

Spain’s Supreme Court has voided the national registry for short-term rentals that the central government created for properties advertised on platforms such as Airbnb. The court said on May 21 that the state had gone beyond its powers by creating an exhaustive national system that overlapped with regional registries already used for tourist accommodation. The ruling, set out in Sentence No. 620/2026, is a setback for Madrid’s effort to tighten oversight of short-term lets. It does not, however, erase the separate licensing, zoning and housing rules imposed by Spain’s regions and municipalities. ### Which rule did the court strike down? Real Decreto 1312/2024, dated Dec. 23, 2024, created a single registration procedure for short-term rentals marketed through digital platforms, according to the court’s summary and Spain’s official gazette record tied to the regime. The system required owners to obtain a registration number before listing qualifying properties online. (poderjudicial.es) The Supreme Court said the state lacked the constitutional authority to create a national registry that displaced or duplicated regional systems for tourist rentals. The court’s summary said the regulation “superpone” itself on existing autonomous-community registries, and for that reason the justices annulled the single-registration procedure. (poderjudicial.es) ### Who brought the case, and what did the judges decide? The Generalitat Valenciana brought the challenge that led to the ruling, and the Supreme Court partially upheld that appeal, according to the General Council of the Judiciary’s summary of the judgment. The case was decided in Sentence No. 620/2026. (poderjudicial.es) Reuters reported that the registry had been introduced by Spain’s coalition government last July as part of a broader push to combat illegal short-term rentals. The court’s ruling means that central authorities cannot use that specific national mechanism to require hosts to register before listing on platforms such as Airbnb. (poderjudicial.es) ### Does this mean short-term rentals are now deregulated in Spain? Spain’s regions and cities still retain their own powers over tourist accommodation, and the court’s reasoning turned on competences, not on a finding that short-term rentals cannot be regulated. The Local reported that the justices said Madrid had overstepped into areas controlled by the regions. (usnews.com) Nomad Lawyer said the decision limits the central government’s ability to impose a single nationwide registry, but does not remove regional or local controls on housing and tourist lets. That means owners still need to check the rules that apply in the autonomous community, municipality and building where the property sits. (thelocal.es) ### What changes for owners who wanted occasional rental flexibility? Property owners no longer face the now-void national registration process as a condition for advertising under that decree. Reuters said the struck-down system had required a registration number before listing on platforms such as Airbnb. (poderjudicial.es) Local restrictions remain the practical issue. A buyer considering occasional holiday lets may still face regional licensing rules, municipal caps, zoning restrictions, homeowners’ association limits or separate tourism regulations, depending on location. The court’s decision removes one central layer, but it leaves those local levers in place. That reading follows from the court’s description of overlapping regional registries and from reporting that the ruling was based on Spain’s division of powers. (usnews.com) ### What should readers watch next? The next step is whether Spain’s central government proposes a narrower replacement that fits within national powers, or leaves enforcement to regional systems already in place. The Supreme Court’s published summary identifies the legal defect as the state’s lack of competence to create this registry in its current form. (poderjudicial.es) For now, the operative documents are Sentence No. 620/2026 and the underlying Real Decreto 1312/2024 that the court annulled in part. Owners, buyers, platforms and lawyers will be looking to regional governments and city halls, where the surviving rules on short-term rentals continue to be made and enforced. (poderjudicial.es)