Long-form guide
Spain Tourist Rental Permit Guide
Owning a property on the Costa del Sol does not, by itself, authorise you to rent it short-term to tourists. Spain requires a dedicated tourist-rental permit (the licencia de vivienda con fines turísticos, generally referred to as the VFT in Andalusia), and the 2024/2025 regulatory update tightened the rules around where, how, and to whom you can rent. This guide walks through who qualifies, which developments on the Coast are typically eligible, how Modelo 210 non-resident income tax applies to owners abroad, and what actually changed in the recent decree.
Last updated · 2026-07-28
Who qualifies
The permit is granted to the property owner — whether an EU or non-EU national — but the EU-vs-non-EU distinction matters far more here than on a pure residency route. EU residents living in Spain can hold and operate a tourist-rental permit under essentially the same regime as a Spanish national, with no separate residence-permit step. Non-EU non-resident owners — the typical buyer profile on the Costa del Sol — can also obtain the VFT and operate the rental; the limitation is that without Spanish residency, time spent in Spain is constrained by the standard 90/180 Schengen rule, and the permit does not in itself confer any right to live in Spain. Mortgage-free ownership, an individual cadastral reference, a community-of-owners' agreement that does not prohibit short-term rentals, and a clean record on prior tourist-rental compliance are the underlying owner-side conditions that apply to everyone.
Qualifying developments
On the Costa del Sol, the developments most commonly associated with new-build tourist-rental purchases sit between Marbella and Estepona — Nueva Andalucía, the Golden Mile, Benahavís, the western Estepona corridor — and, increasingly, the elevated-finish new-build stock in the eastern Estepona–Casares stretch. The 2024/2025 update has placed additional pressure on saturation zones: municipalities can cap the number of VFTs in a given area, and several Andalusian councils have already signalled intent to apply that cap. Beyond the location check, a qualifying property must have its own cadastral reference, comply with habitability and technical-housing rules, meet swimming-pool and common-area requirements where applicable, and not be subject to a community-of-owners' prohibition on tourist use. A property with an active VFT already on file from the developer remains the most straightforward way for a buyer to inherit eligibility on completion.
Tax implications (Modelo 210)
Even for owners who never spend a night in the property, Spanish tax applies to the rental income and to the imputed value of the asset while it is rented. The relevant filing for non-resident owners is the Modelo 210 — the quarterly non-resident income-tax return covering both Spanish-sourced rental income and the imputed rental value of an owned property. Rental income is taxed at a flat 24 % rate for EU/EEA non-residents and 25 % for non-EU non-residents; expenses attributable to the rental — community fees, IBI, insurance, repairs documented by invoice, agency commissions — are deductible against the gross rent. Owners who do not rent the property are still obliged to file a Modelo 210 for the imputed rental value, at a lower rate designed to discourage empty homes in tourist areas. A qualified Spanish tax advisor should always review the current thresholds, deduplication rules and the double-taxation-treaty position before the first filing season.
What changed in the 2024/2025 decree
The 2024/2025 Spanish regulatory update on tourist rentals has shifted the centre of gravity from autonomous-community rules toward a more uniform national framework, while still leaving room for tighter local overlays. The headline changes most relevant to a buyer on the Costa del Sol: municipalities now have explicit authority to cap the number of VFTs in saturated zones — with the Andalusian government empowered to call saturation — community-of-owners' prohibitions on tourist use can be introduced by a three-fifths majority rather than unanimity, mandatory reporting of guest data is being sequenced with new platform-level obligations, and energy-efficiency and habitability standards are increasingly being referenced as renewal conditions. The practical effect for a Nordic or German buyer is that an off-plan purchase in a new-build development — where the master developer has already navigated the permit on behalf of the community — is materially simpler than inheriting a permit on a resale in a contested building.
Considering a Costa del Sol property for tourist rental?
Permit-ready new-build developments on the Costa del Sol handle the bulk of the VFT paperwork at the master-developer level. Browse current luxury listings and message us to discuss how the permit applies to a specific property.