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Article copyrighted © 2026. Plagiarism will be criminally prosecuted

By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Director of Larraín Nesbitt Abogados
1^st of March 2026

Introduction

The Spanish government is going out of its way, for electoral reasons and calculated political gain, to discourage foreign landlords from engaging holiday rentals. To that end, it has entered into a legislative frenzy approving law after law, which adds more red tape, overlaps requirements and even duplicates administrative procedures. In plain English, the government is purposely creating a convoluted mess. Quoting the UK’s rock group Genesis, Spain has become the “land of confusion”. As stated, the ultimate goal is to disincentivise landlords, particularly foreign ones, from renting out in Spain.

The (political) reason is because the government is happy blaming foreign landlords for all of Spain’s housing problems, labelling them as ‘property speculators’ (foreigners cannot vote in national elections, making them ideal scapegoats, as there is no political loss). The government argues that foreigners are behind the sharp increase of property prices nationwide. The truth is that tourist accommodations account for under 1% of all properties (and foreigners don’t own them all, Spanish landlords also rent out), hardly a drop in an ocean. But don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. These half-baked rental measures are well received by their electoral base, fanning the flames of their discontent, which are already disenfranchised in view of soaring property and rental prices, in the hope that they will alleviate Spain's ongoing housing problems (spoiler: they won’t because the root problem is not being addressed).

Because I find myself spending half of my days explaining, to new and existing clients, over and over again the new legal loops and hurdles they need to overcome to become a successful holiday rental landlord, I thought it would be a good idea to publish this brief landlord guide and simplify matters.

The huge benefits of becoming a short-term landlord

Despite my gloomy introduction, facts remain facts. And, as published in several articles (i.e. 8 tips to rent like a pro in Spain, Buy-to-Let), becoming a short-term landlord in Spain is a hugely profitable business. Spain is the second most popular tourist destination in the world, attracting well over 100 million tourists every year; they all require accommodation. Landlords in Spain may benefit in three ways:

1. Continued capital appreciation: because of Spain’s misguided housing policies that stifle supply, properties are increasing in value by two digits, year on year. In fact, Spain leads Europe in rising house prices.
2. Continued rental income appreciation: again, because of Spain’s misguided overprotective housing rental policies, which also stifle supply, rental income is also sharply increasing by two digits, year on year, especially in large Spanish cities (Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga and Valencia).
3. Lenient tax relief: non-resident landlords can legally slash their tax bills by 70%, or more.

When you factor in all three points above, it becomes clear that short-term landlords are safely making over 10% of a property’s value on passive income. In my book, and given today’s uncertainties, that is a very good deal.

Seven easy steps to becoming a short-term landlord

1. Attain permission from your Community of Owners to apply a Tourism Licence.
2. Attain a Tourism Licence from your Regional Tourism Authority.

LNA can assist you with this service: Tourism licence - Registration of Holiday Homes (only Andalusia)

3. Attain an NRUA code from the new VUDA (short-term rental registry). We offer this service: Apply for an NRA rental code (short-term lets/holiday homes/seasonal lets)
4. Report to the Guardia Civil all guests aged 18, or over. I recommend using this company, but use whichever one you fancy: Checkinscan.com
5. File your annual rental income tax return. We offer this tax service: Holiday Rental Accounting Service (HRAS). We reduce, on average, landlord’s tax bills by as much as 70% on claiming tax relief.
6. File once a year your annual non-resident tax return (not to be confused with the one above). We offer this tax service: Non-Resident Imputed Income Tax, NRIIT (Annual Fiscal Representation Service)
7. File your annual Landlord Report with the Land Registry. We offer this service: VUDA/NRA annual landlord report filing

Conclusion

Paradoxically, all these protective rental measures the government is loftily pursuing to protect vulnerable collectives are having the opposite effect, even translating into higher profits for landlords. Never in the history of Spain has it been more profitable (and safe) to rent out a property as a holiday home than now. It’s truly ironic, but hardly unsurprising, how all these well-meaning measures, albeit naïve, sideline vulnerable collectives and make landlords and property owners even more money! The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The ill-advised housing policies Spain’s government clumsily pursues, for ideological reasons, are continuously driving property and rental prices up, year after year. And, as explained in detail in previous articles (Property prices in Spain reached all-time highs. Can they continue to rise?), there is no denying that over the next years this upward trend will continue unabated.  

Because if there is something we can firmly place our trust in, it is the government’s manifest inability to address the root problem which afflicts Spain’s housing (which is to build more houses, lower taxes, and bolster non-paying tenant evictions to under 10 days), making it Spain’s number one problem, even ahead of illegal immigration or record-level unemployment levels. Meaning that any political steps the government takes to assuage the housing problem, are guaranteed to backfire and result in even sharper increases in property and rental prices, further increasing the profits of landlords, year after year, in a spiral. Only a new administration and a decisive 180-degree change in housing policy will see us out of the woods.

If to this they add an open arms immigration policy, by proactively regularising over 1.3mn illegal immigrants, they have brewed a perfect housing supply and demand storm that will drive prices sharply up over the next years in benefit of new and existing landlords. Spain’s explosive population growth has risen by over 4 million people over the last decade. If in light of this, Spain builds under 90,000 homes a year (the lowest figure in all the European Union) when over 500,000 new housing units are required, the problem will be further accentuated and compounded.

The stark imbalance between housing supply and demand, created by the government’s misguided housing and immigration policies and continued market interventionism, is really what lies behind the sharp increase in property and rental prices, not foreign investors. The government is the problem, not the solution. Don’t be fooled.

At LNA, we are happy to help you navigate through the administrative and legal minefield the government has created around holiday homes, helping you to maximise your profits, within the law.

     Related tax and legal services LNA offer:   

• Holiday Rental Accounting Service (HRAS)
• VUDA/NRA annual landlord report filing
• Tourism licence - Registration of Holiday Homes (only Andalusia)
• Police tourist registration
• Apply for an NRA rental code (short-term lets/holiday homes/seasonal lets)
• Non-Resident Imputed Income Tax, NRIIT (Annual Fiscal Representation Service)

At LNA, our friendly team can assist you in buying (or selling) your property anywhere in Spain. We can also get you any residence visa in Spain. Give us a call!

At Larrain Nesbitt Abogados (LNA) we have over 23 years of experience specialising in property conveyance and taxation all over Spain. We also assist clients with immigration & residency visas, and inheritance procedures (probate). You can contact us by email at info@larrainnesbitt.com, by telephone on our UK line (+44) 0754 3838 218, or Spanish line (+34) 952 19 22 88, or by completing our contact form.

Please note the information provided in this article is of general interest only and is not to be construed or intended as substitute for professional legal advice. This article may be posted freely in websites or other social media so long as the author is duly credited. Plagiarising, whether in whole or in part, this article without crediting the author may result in criminal prosecution. Ní neart go cur le chéile. VOV.

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