From May 11th, 2016, those properties that are located in residential land and are to be rented for short periods (days, weeks or months) and have a booking system through specialized platforms must be registered in the Delegation of Andalusia as Tourism Properties. These properties can be rented in their entirety, or by rooms, provided that there are no more than 15 guests at the same time. In addition, if renting rooms separately, the lessor needs to reside in the house to rent and cannot rent more than six rooms with four people per room at the same time.

Touristic rental must meet a series of requirements, such as having a First Occupation Licence issued by the local municipality once the construction work has been completed. The rooms must be ventilated and have blinds or opaque curtains and a first aid kit. If you are renting between the months of May and September, both inclusive, housing must have a fixed air conditioning system (i.e. portable devices will not be valid) in all rooms of the property. In the event of renting it during the winter months, from October to April, it must have a system of fixed heating. All those homes that are to be attached as a vacation property that do not meet this requirement must make modifications within a year.

The owner shall provide physical or electronic brochures of nearby facilities, medical facilities, parks, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. It is essential to have a complaints book, plus a sign informing customers of its availability. Guests must be provided with a working telephone number to solve any urgent issues that may arise. They must also report the use of electronic devices and use of common areas shared with other neighbours (pools, gardens, barbecues …).

A holiday rental agreement and a registration form must be established between the owner and the client, containing all of the data that is deemed necessary for administration. The time of entry and exit, unless stated otherwise in the agreement, will be at 16:00 and 12:00 hours respectively. At the guests’ arrival, the owner, or a person designated if so, should report on everything aforementioned to these, and then save the documentation for a year, for possible checks by the competent authorities.

As for the registry form, all guests over 16 years must be registered, and within 24 hours, the owner must submit this information to the local police, either in person, or online. The rental price will include the use of supplies, mandatory cleaning both within the entry and exit of each client and two sets of clean bedding. An invoice of all services required by the customer will be provided, including the payment of the reservation.

Unless the agreement stated otherwise, the reservation deposit should be of a 30% of the total price. If it is cancelled within 10 days prior to it, the owner can keep a 50% of the deposit as a matter of compensation. However, if it was the owner who cancelled the reservation within this period, the customer must be compensated for an amount of a 30% of the total price to be paid. Economic compensation shall be exempt from those cancelations which are due to major causes, or if they are carried out in the 10 days prior to booking.

The penalties for not registering your rental holiday may arise to sums of 150,000€ plus both temporary and permanent rental license withdrawals.

Being a very detailed procedure, which must be verified to the last detail in order to strictly comply with regulations and avoid possible sanctions, we recommend turning to the prestigious law firm DAEMI ZABALZA & ASSOCIATES, whose lawyers in Marbella will advise you on your particular case, and will fulfil the registration process of your property at a top performance level.