How to Get a Tourist Licence in Andalusia in 2026: The VUT Application Process, Town-Hall Step and 3/5 Community Vote

A tourist licence in Andalusia in 2026, registered as a vivienda de uso turistico (VUT, formerly VFT) in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, is issued on a free declaracion responsable filed through the Junta sede electronica. But the RTA filing is the last of three steps, not the first. Under Decreto-ley 1/2025 the owner must first secure a town-hall urbanistic title, and under article 17.12 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal the comunidad de propietarios must vote approval by a 3/5 majority of all owners. The Spanish Supreme Court annulled the national NRUA register in May 2026 (STS 620/2026), but the Andalusian RTA registration and the community vote remain fully in force. The city of Málaga went further: from 23 August 2025 it suspended all new VUT authorisations across the entire municipality for up to three years under Article 6.2 of the same Decreto-ley. This page walks through the application in the order an owner actually runs it, from the document gathering to the registration code. The regulation itself, including the sanction scale and the saturation powers, is covered in the companion VFT rules guide.

What documents do you need before filing the VFT declaration?

The declaracion responsable is the formal act that opens the registration, but it is only accepted if the owner can attest to a stack of prerequisites. The Junta de Andalucía FAQ sets out the documents that must either accompany the filing or be supplied within 10 working days of the entry record code being issued. Failure to supply them starts the cancellation procedure.

The core document set is: an updated nota simple from the Registro de la Propiedad showing the owner’s title; a certificate from the secretary or administrator of the comunidad de propietarios confirming that the community has approved tourist use under article 17.12 of the LPH; and, if the person operating the property (the explotador) is not the owner, the legal title that enables the exploitation (a cession contract, loan, or mandate detailing its validity period). If the filing is made through a representative, a notarial power of attorney, an Apoder@ certificate, or an apud acta is required. Owners renting by rooms must also supply an empadronamiento certificate. Multiple owners must attach the anexo de titularidad compartida for each co-owner, who must then sign digitally through the sede electronica.

The declaracion responsable itself, as rewritten by Disposicion final sexta of Decreto-ley 1/2025, now requires the owner to attest to two community-level facts in paragraph 9.1.g: first, that the dwelling’s constitutive title or estatutos do not prohibit tourist use, and second, that the comunidad de propietarios has expressly authorised it in the terms required by state legislation (the reformed LPH article 17.12). A community whose estatutos already ban tourist activity makes the declaration impossible to file truthfully, regardless of whether a vote is held. Owners should check the estatutos before convening any junta.

Document	When required	Issuing body
Nota simple (updated)	Always	Registro de la Propiedad
Community approval certificate	Always, if the property is in a comunidad	Secretary/administrator of the comunidad
Exploiter title (cession contract)	If the operator is not the owner	Private contract
Power of attorney or Apoder@	If filed by a representative	Notary or Apoder@ platform
Empadronamiento certificate	If renting by rooms	Ayuntamiento (padron municipal)
Anexo de titularidad compartida	If multiple owners	Co-owners sign via sede electronica

The Junta does not charge a fee for the RTA registration itself. The costs an owner faces are the prerequisites: a possible town-hall fee for the urbanistic title, a notarial fee for any power of attorney, and the practical cost of convening the community vote.

How do you file the declaracion responsable in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía?

The filing is telematic and requires a digital certificate. There is no paper route. The owner, or an authorised representative, accesses the Junta sede electronica, navigates to the vivienda con fines turisticos procedure, and completes the declaracion responsable form. The form asks for the titleholder’s details, the property’s cadastral reference, the address, the type of rental (whole dwelling or by rooms), the capacity, and the exploiter details if different from the owner. The documents listed above are attached electronically.

On submission, the Junta issues an entry record code in the format CTC-2016XXXXX. This code confirms the declaration was accepted and allows the owner to begin operating provisionally. It is not the registration code. The definitive signatura, in the format VFT/HU/00000 (or VUT/HU/00000 under the Decreto 31/2024 terminology), is assigned in the registration resolution once the file is reviewed. The two-letter province code identifies the location: MA for Málaga, CA for Cádiz, GR for Granada, and so on. The registration code must appear in every advertisement, including on Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo listings. The Junta provides a public buscador de establecimientos where anyone can verify an active registration by number, commercial name, or address.

If the attached documents are incomplete, the Delegacion Territorial issues a requirement giving the owner 10 working days to supply the missing items. If the deadline is missed, the cancellation procedure begins. This is the most common procedural failure for non-resident owners who file remotely and do not monitor the sede electronica notifications.

What does the town-hall authorisation step require under Decreto-ley 1/2025?

Article 6 of Decreto-ley 1/2025, de 24 de febrero (BOJA num. 41, 3 March 2025), modified Decreto 28/2016 to require that the owner obtain a prior urbanistic title from the ayuntamiento before filing the RTA declaration. The title takes one of two forms: a licencia urbanistica (a full municipal licence) or a declaracion responsable de cambio de uso (a responsible declaration that the change of use is compatible with the PGOU). Which one applies depends on the municipality and the property’s current classification. Article 6.1 establishes that residential use of a plot does not by itself authorise tourist use; the planning instrument must expressly contemplate compatibility, or the owner must obtain the licence or file the responsible declaration.

The town-hall step is where most 2026 VFT applications stall. Article 6.2 of Decreto-ley 1/2025 also allows any ayuntamiento to declare a zona saturada and suspend new VUT authorisations in that zone, and to set per-zone limits on the share of dwellings that can be used for tourist housing. Marbella, Málaga, Estepona, Torremolinos and Mijas have all signalled or applied limits in specific barrios. If the ayuntamiento notifies the Consejeria de Turismo that a property is incompatible with the PGOU, the RTA registration is automatically cancelled. A buyer weighing a buy-to-let purchase cannot assume a new VFT will be authorisable; the local PGOU and the tourism plan for the specific sub-area should be checked before completion.

The most consequential application of this power is the city of Málaga. On 14 August 2025 the Junta de Gobierno Local agreed to initiate a modification of the PGOU and, under Article 6.2 of Decreto-ley 1/2025, suspended all new VUT authorisations across the entire municipality. The suspension took effect on 23 August 2025 and runs for a maximum of three years, or until the PGOU modification is approved if that happens sooner. During the suspension, residential use of a plot does not authorise tourist use anywhere in the municipality, and the Junta de Andalucía has been asked to block the automatic RTA registration procedure for the period. This follows an earlier January 2025 measure that prohibited new VUT registrations in 43 Málaga barrios where tourist housing exceeded 8 per cent of the residential stock, and required independent entrance and services in 328 other barrios. The Ayuntamiento cites the CJEU ruling of 22 September 2020 (ECLI:EU:C:2020:743), which recognised the fight against housing scarcity and the preservation of territorial functional balance as compelling reasons of general interest that justify prior authorisation mechanisms. An owner considering a VFT in Málaga province should check whether the property sits in the city or in a municipality with its own restrictions before committing to the process.

The town-hall authorisation is separate from the RTA registration and must be in place first. The practical sequence is: check the PGOU, file the urbanistic title with the ayuntamiento, then file the RTA declaration with the Junta. Reversing the order means the RTA filing is premature and risks cancellation when the ayuntamiento’s notification arrives.

How does the 3/5 community vote work under the reformed LPH?

Article 17.12 of the Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal, inserted by Disposicion Final cuarta of Ley Organica 1/2025, de 2 de enero, de medidas en materia de eficiencia del Servicio Publico de Justicia (BOE-A-2025-76, published 3 January 2025), requires the owner to obtain the express approval of the comunidad de propietarios before a dwelling is first used as a vivienda de uso turistico. The community can approve, refuse, or impose conditions by a 3/5 majority of all owners who, in turn, represent 3/5 of the cuotas de participacion (not just those present or represented at the meeting). The 3/5 threshold applies to both the approval or prohibition of tourist use and to any agreement to impose special fee surcharges of up to 20% on the tourist-let unit. Article 7.3 of the same law, inserted by the same Disposicion Final cuarta, obliges the owner to obtain this prior approval and gives the presidente the power to require immediate cessation of any unapproved activity, with the same cessation action available as for nuisance activities under article 7.2.

If the community refuses, the dwelling cannot be used for tourist purposes. The presidente can require the immediate cessation of any turistico activity already running without approval. The owner’s recourse against a community refusal is to impugn the agreement under article 18 of the LPH, which allows challenging community agreements that are contrary to the law or the estatutos. This is a civil court action, not an administrative appeal, and it requires a lawyer. The Horizontal Property Law guide covers the LPH framework in depth, and the community fees guide explains how the comunidad de propietarios functions day to day.

Properties registered as VFTs before the LPH reform took effect can continue to operate while the registration remains in force, per the Disposicion adicional segunda inserted alongside article 17.12. A change of owner, a change of advertised capacity, or a cambio de uso requires a fresh community vote. The grandfathering runs with the activity, not with the property.

Was the NRUA national register abolished, and does it affect Andalusian VFT registration?

Yes, the national NRUA (Numero de Registro Unico de Arrendamientos) was annulled, but it does not affect the Andalusian RTA registration. The Tribunal Supremo, in STS 620/2026 of 19 May 2026 (Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo, Seccion 5), declared the NRUA procedure created by Real Decreto 1312/2024 null on competence grounds: the State lacked the constitutional title to impose a national census of short-let properties when tourism and housing are regional competences. The ruling was reported by the Poder Judicial on 21 May 2026.

What the ruling removed: the obligation to register each property in a national Land Registry-based system to obtain a national number before advertising on platforms. What remains in force: the Ventanilla Unica Digital (article 7 of RD 1312/2024), the platform data-transmission obligations under EU Regulation 2024/1028, and all regional registries. For Andalusia this means the RTA declaracion responsable, the town-hall urbanistic title and the 3/5 community vote under article 17.12 LPH are all untouched. Owners file exactly as before with the Junta de Andalucía; the regional registration code (VUT/HU/00000) is the number that must appear in every advertisement. The ruling simplified the landscape by removing a redundant national layer, but it did not weaken the regional or community-level requirements that an Andalusian owner must still meet.

What is the Proyecto de Ley de Turismo Sostenible and does it change the process?

The Junta de Andalucía is processing a Proyecto de Ley de Turismo Sostenible de Andalucía, approved by the Consejo de Gobierno on 2 December 2025 and now in parliamentary procedure under urgent track. It is designed to replace the current framework law, Ley 13/2011, de 23 de diciembre, del Turismo de Andalucía, which has governed the sector for over a decade. As of July 2026 the text is not yet law: it remains in tramitacion parlamentaria and until it is published in BOJA and enters into force, the existing regime (Ley 13/2011, Decreto 28/2016 as amended, Decreto-ley 1/2025, and the reformed LPH) continues to apply in full.

The most significant sanction change for owners was already introduced by Decreto-ley 1/2025, which amended Ley 13/2011 to raise the fine ceilings substantially. Under the current amended regime, minor infractions carry fines up to EUR 10,000, serious infractions from EUR 10,001 to EUR 100,000, and very serious infractions from EUR 100,001 to EUR 600,000, with the possibility of establishment closure and a one-year ban on new registrations for a sanctioned holder. The one-year ban was inserted directly by Disposicion final quinta of Decreto-ley 1/2025, which added a new paragraph 4 to article 38 of Ley 13/2011: a cancellation for essential inaccuracy or falseness in the declaracion responsable bars the same person from seeking a new registration for the same object for one year. The Proyecto de Ley de Turismo Sostenible would maintain and codify these ceilings in the new framework law, reinforce the urbanistic encaje between tourist accommodation and municipal planning, tighten inspection and traceability tools, and align with the Decreto-ley 1/2025 saturation-powers framework. The Junta has reported a substantial and growing number of cancelled VUT registrations since the new measures took effect, as enforcement has intensified across the region. An owner registering today should monitor the Proyecto’s progress, as the full regulatory architecture will consolidate under the new law once it enters into force. The VFT rules guide tracks the sanction scale in detail.

What are the property requirements under Decreto 28/2016 article 6?

Article 6 of Decreto 28/2016 sets the substantive standards a dwelling must meet to qualify as a VFT. The Junta FAQ lists the requirements in full. The property must be on suelo de uso residencial (residential-use land): a flat, apartment, house, or chalet, but not a rural property, which falls under the separate VTAR regime. Ley 5/2025, de 16 de diciembre, de Vivienda de Andalucía (BOJA num. 247, 24 December 2025, in force 24 January 2026) confirms that viviendas de proteccion oficial (protected housing) cannot be used for tourist purposes at all, and treats renting a protected dwelling for tourist use as an especially serious infraction.

The dwelling must be furnished and equipped for immediate use, with fixed refrigeration (May to September) and heating (October to April), a first-aid kit, tourist information for the area, hojas de quejas y reclamaciones with a visible sign, cleaning at entry and exit, bed and table linen with a replacement set, a contact number for immediate guest attention, appliance instructions, and information on internal rules (pet admission, smoking restrictions, restricted areas). Rooms must have direct ventilation to the exterior or a patio, plus a darkening system.

Requirement	Detail
Maximum capacity (whole dwelling)	15 persons
Maximum capacity (by rooms)	6 persons
Maximum per room	4 persons
Climate control	Refrigeration May-Sep, heating Oct-Apr
Location	Suelo de uso residencial only
VPO exclusion	Protected housing cannot be used as VFT (Ley 5/2025)

The owner must also maintain a libro-registro and submit partes de entrada de viajeros to the Comisaria or Guardia Civil, as required by Orden INT/1922/2003, de 3 de julio. This is the police guest-registration obligation that sits alongside the tourism registration.

How long does the full VFT application take in 2026?

The RTA declaration itself can be filed in a single session once the prerequisites are in place, and the entry record code is issued immediately. The full timeline is governed by the two prerequisite steps. The community vote requires convening a junta, giving the statutory notice period, and holding the meeting; in a community that meets quarterly, this alone can take 4 to 8 weeks. The town-hall urbanistic title depends on the municipality: a declaracion responsable de cambio de uso can be processed in days if the property is clearly compatible, but a licencia urbanistica can take several months in a municipality with a heavy workload.

From a clean file with both prerequisites secured, the full stack typically runs 4 to 8 weeks. From scratch, with the community vote and the town-hall title still to obtain, 2 to 4 months is a realistic range on the Costa del Sol in 2026. Owners in saturated zones where the ayuntamiento has suspended new VFTs may find the process blocked entirely until the suspension lifts. Málaga city is the clearest case: the municipality-wide suspension in force since 23 August 2025 means no new VUT can be registered there until the PGOU modification is approved or the three-year cap is reached.

For non-resident owners, the practical path is to appoint a gestor or lawyer with a digital certificate to file the RTA declaration and monitor the sede electronica for the 10-working-day document requirement. The tax obligations that follow registration, including the Modelo 210 on rental income, are covered in the short-let rental tax compliance guide, and the broader rental decision is framed in the renting out property guide.