Supreme Court Annuls Spain’s National Short-Term Rental Registry

Spain’s Supreme Court has annulled the single registry of short-term rentals that was introduced by the Spanish Government in July last year.

The registry required holiday homeowners to apply for a registration number at the Property Register. Without the number, it was illegal to advertise holiday rentals on rental platforms such as Booking, Airbnb etc.

After an appeal from the Valencian Regional Government, the Supreme Court ruled that the State does not have the competence to establish a national registry that overlaps with existing regional registries.

The ruling only applies to the creation of the single register, and online platforms will still be required to share data about advertised properties with the authorities.

Nevertheless, the scrapping of the national register is likely to cut down on paperwork and red tape for many rental owners.