Tourist license

Hi Lesley3,

One of our members, DaveBev1, is very knowledgeable about Spain's Tourist Licence and has published an extensive guide about it:

Tourist Licence for holiday rental

The first step is to check with your Town Hall whether they are issuing Tourist Licences for your area and whether your particular property meets the standards required of their compatibility certificate - without it, you will not be able to apply for the licence.

Kind regards,

Kim

You dont need the tourist licence if you go down the long term rental. Maybe look at that whilst waiting for the tourist licence. They are taking a while now. Some areas not even issuing them at all. Some areas will not issue above second floor. Check the criteria for your area. Also the tax payable is less on long term let's. 

Hi

This link will give you official information on holiday letting and obtaining a Tourist License, including requirements of the property.

https://www.turisme.gva.es/opencms/opencms/turisme/es/contents/tramitacion/empresa_turistica/faq_preguntas_frecuentes_viviendas_turisticas.html

If you decide on residential letting then no License required but do ensure you take proper legal advice and understand your responsibilities as a landlord and the rights of tenants in Spain.

You give your location as Torrevieja.  If you are there, then the Town Hall are pretty quick at issuing the Certificate of Compatibility needed to apply for a Tourist License, usually just a few weeks.  Not all properties will be eligible though.  Other Town Halls can take many months or not even issue them, without the Compatibility Certificate you cannot apply for the Tourist License and therefore cannot do holiday lets.  The License itself will take another few weeks.  You will also need to have a valid EPC and certificate of occupation (habitation cert).  Once you have the license then you must visit the Guardia Civil to obtain log-in codes for registering your guests and buy the official plaque.  The License number must be included in all forms of advertising.

You don't need an agent, you can handle the advertising, bookings and management yourself by working with a local registered keyholding business for check-ins, cleans and emergency cover.

As a non-resident your tax must be paid quarterly with both types of renting.  If an EU-resident the tax is 19% on the net rental (limited tax deductable allowances) but if a non-EU resident then it is a straight 24% of the rental.

You are welcome to PM us with any questions regarding holiday letting, happy to help.

Thank you so much , very informative this is a big help 

Thank you 

Hi there , can anyone give me an approximate total cost of obtaining a tourist license? please 

Thank you 

Lesley3

Different Town Halls charge different amounts for the Compatibility Certificate, so probably €30-€50 depending on where you are.  The License application is free.  If you have recently purchased your property then you should be able to use the EPC that was done for the sale and there will be an up to date certificate of occupancy (habitation), but if these are out of date you will need to arrange new ones.

There are lawyers who will do the applications for you, some will charge more than others, but overall I would be surprised if you needed to pay more than a couple of hundred euros (excluding any costs for new certificates).  The plaque will cost around €20-€30 and I think the complaints forms were under €10, but can't be sure of exact cost as bought ours a long time ago.

There are a few rental agencies that will do the whole process for free but you will need to sign an agreement to use them for the letting in exchange, so could end up costing you a lot more that way in the long run.

Thankyou Dave1 , Ive got to  really think about it 🤷🏼‍♀️ Im totally confused , thought it was a good idea at the time , my neighbour has the keys and comments have been made as to wether it’s being used without me knowing and I thought it a good idea to let an agency let it out , that way it would be let properly and I would know when and who goes in there , but it’s a lot for my ‘tiny brain’ to take in !  I only get over there once or maybe twice a year , I bought it 20 years ago with my husband but 6 months after buying it my husbands suddenly passed away he was only 49 , so I’m having to sort it on my own , but Thankyou so much for your information I will give it plenty of thought 

Thank you again 

Lesley3

Hi Lesley

You are welcome to message me privately about things.  If your neighbour is taking advantage of you then get the locks changed next time you are there and use one of the reputable keyholding companies instead.  You don't have to use an agency to let it out, in fact if you do you won't have much, if any, control over who stays and when.  If you can, manage the bookings yourself using the keyholding company to do check-ins and cleans.  

Bev

Oh I’ve never heard of them , where would I find them ? Please , that sounds a good idea Thankyou

Lesley