If you let a property in Spain, or if you welcome Spanish travellers, one rule changed in May 2026: the national registration number that platforms had been asking for since July 2025 is no longer mandatory. The regional rules and the obligation to report your guests, on the other hand, remain in place.
This article draws on sources we read for the occasion: the press release of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ, Spain's judiciary governing council) of 21 May 2026 on the ruling of the Tribunal Supremo (Spain's Supreme Court), the Airbnb help page on Royal Decree 1312/2024, the Spanish government's press release of 15 July 2025, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on EUR-Lex, the text of Royal Decree 933/2021 in Spain's official gazette (BOE, Boletín Oficial del Estado) and a legal alert from the law firm Andersen from June 2026. We could not read the full text of the ruling or the pages of the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of the Interior (access denied): only the facts found in the sources above are reported.
Last verification of sources: 17 October 2026. This is not legal advice: check it against your own situation and your comunidad autónoma (Spain's autonomous region).
What is the Spanish single short-term rental register?
The single register was a national procedure created by Royal Decree 1312/2024 of 23 December 2024: every home, or part of a home, had to obtain a registration number in order to be offered for short-term rental on an online platform. According to Airbnb's help page, the decree came into force on 2 January 2025 and its provisions applied in full from 1 July 2025. It targeted hosts whether professional or not, regular or occasional.
Airbnb specifies that the definition also covered "de temporada" lets (seasonal lets within the meaning of the urban leases law) and rooms: a host who rented out a room was affected. The decree also created a "single digital window" (ventanilla única digital) tasked with collecting and exchanging rental data between platforms and administrations.
The decree presents itself as the implementation of European Regulation 2024/1028 on the collection and sharing of data relating to short-term accommodation rental services (CGPJ); according to EUR-Lex, that regulation was adopted on 11 April 2024 and has applied since 20 May 2026. For the European context, see our article on Regulation 2024/1028. Another country, the same registration logic: see our article on Belgium (Flanders and Brussels).
Why did the Supreme Court annul the register?
Because the State did not have the competence to create an exhaustive national register. According to the CGPJ press release of 21 May 2026, the Tribunal Supremo, in its ruling no. 620/2026 (dated 19 May 2026 according to Andersen's alert), held that the State has no competence basis to lay down exhaustive rules for a national register that overlaps the existing regional registers for tourist accommodation.
The appeal came from the Generalitat Valenciana (the Valencian regional government), and the ruling upheld it in part. The CGPJ explains several points:
- the court examined four State competence bases in the Constitution (civil legislation and the organisation of registers, equality of rights, the foundations of economic planning, statistics) and held that none of them covered exhaustive regulation of the single register;
- the European regulation requires existing registration systems to be adapted, but it does not require a Member State's procedure to be national;
- the procedure was not meant to register a rental contract, but to obtain a register number that was essential in order to offer a home on a platform.
What remains in force after the ruling?
The ruling annuls only part of the decree. The CGPJ states that the court annulled only the provisions creating the "single register of lets" and dismissed the appeal for the rest: the single digital window, the platforms' data transmission obligations and the transmission of data for statistical purposes therefore remain valid.
According to Andersen's alert, which is a law firm's analysis and not an official text, the annulment also covers the obligation to be entered in the property register (or the register of movable property) in order to obtain the number, and it leaves a regulatory gap at State level regarding the registration procedure. The firm recommends following legislative developments.
| Item | After the ruling | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Single national register and national number | Annulled | CGPJ |
| Single digital window | Maintained | CGPJ |
| Data transmission by platforms | Maintained | CGPJ |
| Registers of the comunidades autónomas | Unchanged | Andersen, Airbnb |
Do you still need a number to publish on Airbnb?
Not the national number. Airbnb's help page says that the obligations linked to the registration procedure and the national number (NRUA, Número de Registro Único de Alquiler) were annulled by ruling 620/2026, and that the national number is no longer needed to publish a listing on Airbnb.
Airbnb has set up two separate fields for the listing: one for the national number and one for the regional number, where the host enters their number if they have one or declares an exemption. For the regional number, the platform asks you to use the field provided when it applies, or to declare an exemption. According to Andersen, owners and managers must check which number each platform requires under the regulation of the comunidad autónoma that applies to each property.
In practice, before changing a listing: read the platform's help page, and check with the tourism or housing body of your comunidad autónoma (we did not read any regional page, so we do not detail any regional rule here).
What happened before, and why did it matter?
The Spanish government tied the national number to listing removals. In a press release of 15 July 2025, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda announced an agreement with Airbnb: the platform would send, every month from August 2025, the information required by the regulation, including national and regional registration numbers, and would remove listings showing irregularities in the national register.
The press release sets out the procedure: Airbnb had to warn the host and give them time to correct the problem, unless the irregularity came from the revocation of a national number, in which case the listing was removed 48 hours after the ministry's notification. That procedure relied on the national number. We found no source we had read on what becomes of the agreement after the ruling.
What obligation remains for the guests you welcome?
Reporting guest data remains in force: it comes from a different decree, Royal Decree 933/2021, which the ruling does not concern. According to the BOE text, this decree sets the documentary register and information obligations for individuals or legal entities who carry out accommodation activities, whether professionally or not; it also applies to digital intermediation platforms offering services in Spain. It came into force on 27 April 2022.
Here is what the text says for a host who is not a professional:
- they are exempt from the documentary register and from retaining data, but remain subject to the reporting obligations;
- before starting the activity, they report their details to the competent authorities, within ten days after the required administrative steps and in any case before actually starting;
- they transmit the data on their activity (guest and transaction data: contract, performance, payment) immediately and in any case within a maximum of 24 hours after the booking or the signing of the contract (or its cancellation) and after the start of the service;
- these reports are made electronically, except that a non-professional host may use non-electronic means under the procedure set.
For professional hosts, data must also be kept for three years from the end of the service. Who counts as "professional" under the regulation, and which procedure to follow, could not be read on the Ministry of the Interior's page: check it on the ministry's website. For a comparison with France, see our article on the guest register.
What should you do if you manage a property in Spain?
Make three checks, in this order:
- Listing: on each platform, read the national and regional number fields, and keep the regional number if your comunidad autónoma requires one;
- Guests: check that the reporting of guest data is in place (Royal Decree 933/2021) and that it meets the 24-hour deadline;
- Local rules: find out from your comunidad autónoma and your municipality: according to Andersen, regional registers exist under the regions' competences in tourism, and the Tribunal Supremo held that the State could not overlay an exhaustive national register on them.
To compare with another country, see our guide to England, where a national register has been announced but is not yet open.
How do you welcome foreign guests in a property in Spain?
With instructions in the traveller's language and clear information on the house rules. Translating the instructions (arrival, house rules, departure) into the traveller's language saves you questions. See our article on welcome-book languages. The free welcome book generator creates a PDF welcome book and its phone version without an account.
The essentials
Information
- National register annulled: ruling 620/2026 of the Tribunal Supremo (19 May 2026) annuls the single register procedure of Royal Decree 1312/2024, for lack of State competence (CGPJ, 21 May 2026).
- Maintained: the single digital window, the transmission of data by platforms and statistical data (CGPJ).
- Airbnb: the national number is no longer needed to publish; two fields exist, national and regional (Airbnb help page).
- Regions: the registers of the comunidades autónomas remain; check what each platform requires for your property (Andersen, a law firm's analysis).
- Guests: Royal Decree 933/2021 remains in force: data reported within a maximum of 24 hours, even for a non-professional host (BOE).
- Not read: full text of the ruling, pages of the Ministries of Housing and the Interior, regional rules.
FAQ
Is the Spanish registration number still mandatory in 2026?
The national number is no longer mandatory: the Tribunal Supremo annulled the single register procedure, and Airbnb says the national number is no longer needed to publish. A regional number may still be required depending on your comunidad autónoma: check with it.
Why did the Supreme Court annul the register?
It held that the State had no competence basis to lay down exhaustive rules for a national register that overlaps the registers of the comunidades autónomas (CGPJ press release, 21 May 2026). It also noted that the European regulation does not require a national procedure.
What happens to the obligation for platforms to transmit data?
It remains. According to the CGPJ, the court dismissed the appeal as regards the single digital window, the online platforms' data transmission obligations and the transmission of statistical data.
Do I still have to report my guests' data in Spain?
Yes: Royal Decree 933/2021 is not affected by the ruling. According to the BOE text, a non-professional host remains subject to the reporting obligations, within a maximum of 24 hours after the booking or the signing of the contract and after the start of the service. Check the procedure on the Ministry of the Interior's website.
Can my listing be removed if my regional number is missing?
We have no source we read that says so for your case. The 2025 removals concerned the national number; for the regional number, look at the regulation of your region and the platform's rules.
Does the European regulation change anything?
Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 has applied since 20 May 2026 and does not call for a national registration procedure, according to the Tribunal Supremo: it is the Member States, regions included, that organise registration. See our article on this regulation and the one on the Le Meur law for France.
An annulled register, regional rules to follow
In Spain, the end of the national register removes neither the regional registers nor the reporting of guests: it puts them back in the foreground. Keep your welcome book clear and in the traveller's language: start with the free welcome book generator, then discover the Essential (free, add-ons à la carte) plan and the other plans on the Pricing page.
Image credits. Cover: photo "A row of buildings with balconies and a street light" by Bernhard, Unsplash, Unsplash licence. Photos in the text: "A balcony with potted plants and a wrought iron railing" by William Broad, Unsplash, and "White and red concrete building" by Frames For Your Heart, Unsplash, Unsplash licence.
