Journal
Spain has scrapped its national short-term-rental registry — what Costa Blanca owners actually need to do now
By Elia Living ·
The short answer
Since 1 July 2025, anyone letting a property short-term in Spain had to obtain a national registration number — the NRUA (Número de Registro Único de Arrendamientos) — before the listing could go live on Airbnb or Booking.
That national number is gone. On 19 May 2026 the Spanish Supreme Court struck down the regulation that created it. So if you have been waiting on an NRUA to advertise your Costa Blanca property, you no longer need one.
But this is exactly where owners get it wrong, in both directions. The ruling removed one national requirement. It did not abolish your regional Valencian tourist registration, your community-of-owners consent, or your annual Modelo 210 non-resident tax — all of which are still very much in force, and one of which has actually been tightened in the same period. Here is precisely what fell and what survives.
Don't confuse the two 2026 changes
Two separate things happened to property owners in 2026, and the press has blurred them together:
| What it does | Instrument | |
|---|---|---|
| The Supreme Court ruling | Removes an obligation — kills the national NRUA registry number | Ruling STS 620/2026, of 19 May 2026 (made public 21 May; published in the BOE on 8 June 2026) |
| The tax order | Adds an obligation — a more detailed Modelo 210 / 296 with fuller rental data | Orden HAC/623/2026, in force 24 June 2026 |
One takes paperwork away. The other adds it. They are not the same event and they don't cancel each other out.
What exactly was struck down
The national registry was created by a central-government decree, Real Decreto 1312/2024 of 23 December 2024. The Supreme Court's Contentious-Administrative Chamber — ruling on a challenge brought by the Generalitat Valenciana, the regional government that covers the Costa Blanca — partially annulled that decree.
The reasoning was constitutional, not practical: regulating tourist rentals is a power of the autonomous regions, not the central State (Article 149.1 of the Spanish Constitution). A single national registry duplicated the registries the regions already run, and that was held to overstep the State's competence. From the moment the ruling was published in the BOE, the requirement to obtain the national number to list a property stopped being enforceable.
What fell — and what still applies
This is the part to read twice, because the relief is narrower than the headlines suggest. The Court removed the national number only. The rest of the system stands:
| Requirement | Status now |
|---|---|
| National NRUA number before listing | Removed |
| Property-registry entry specifically for the short-term let | Removed |
| Ventanilla Única Digital — platforms (Airbnb/Booking) reporting host data to the authorities | Still in force (required by EU Regulation 2024/1028, which the Court expressly left standing) |
| Valencian regional tourist registration (Comunitat Valenciana VT registry / licence) | Still required |
| 3/5 community-of-owners consent for tourist letting | Still required |
| Modelo 210 — annual non-resident income tax on rental and own-use | Still required — and now stricter |
In practice, the booking platforms are simply switching to verify your regional registration code instead of the national NRUA — so the layer that actually gates your listing never went away.
In one sentence for an owner: you no longer need a national number to put your property on Airbnb legally — but you still need the Valencian tourist registration, and you still file Modelo 210 every year regardless.
What a Costa Blanca owner still needs
Nothing here changed because of the ruling — and skipping any of it is where the real risk now sits:
- NIE — your Spanish identification/tax number. The basis for everything; unaffected.
- Modelo 210, every year — now in a more detailed format under Orden HAC/623/2026 (precise property identification, gross income, deductible costs, net income). It also applies to own-use (a deemed income), not just rental.
- Regional tourist registration (Valencia, VT) — if you let short-term. Note that some municipalities and zones (for example Jávea) have frozen new licences, so this is not automatic.
- 3/5 community consent — the formal precondition for tourist letting in multi-unit buildings.
- Ventanilla Única compliance — simply listing on a platform triggers data-reporting; your declared tax has to stay consistent with what the platform reports.
What you no longer need: the national NRUA number, or a property-registry entry created specifically for the short-term let.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a number to list my property on Airbnb or Booking?
No — the national NRUA number is gone after the 19 May 2026 Supreme Court ruling. What you do still need is the Valencian regional tourist registration; the platforms now verify that regional code instead.
Does this mean short-term letting is now unregulated in Spain?
No. The Court only removed the national registry. Regional registration, community-of-owners consent, platform data-reporting and non-resident tax all continue to apply.
I already paid the registry fee — can I get it back?
The decree that required the fee has been declared void, which opens a route to reclaim what you paid as a State patrimonial-liability claim (article 32 of Ley 40/2015), within one year of the ruling becoming final. Keep your proof of payment and have the claim checked rather than assuming the refund is automatic.
Did the tax rules change too?
Yes, but separately. Orden HAC/623/2026 (in force 24 June 2026) makes the Modelo 210 / 296 declarations more detailed. That's an added obligation, unrelated to the registry being scrapped.
I'm a non-resident — does any of this hit me differently?
The registry change applies the same to residents and non-residents. The part that matters most for non-residents is Modelo 210: it's annual, it now wants more detail, and because the platforms report your income under the Ventanilla Única, your declaration needs to match.