The main Spanish associations representing private owners and local managers of vacation homes have "declared war" on Royal Decree 1312/2024 of the single window.
They accuse the Government of "violating up to six fundamental principles of the Spanish and European legal system, in addition to expelling nine out of ten small private owners who currently offer vacation accommodations from the market."
They also reject the 21% VAT, which they consider "absolutely discriminatory compared to other accommodations in Spain and request that it be equated to the rest of the accommodation sector."
The mobilization of the sector has reached unprecedented proportions, with thousands of emails sent these days to various Ministries and spokespersons of the Congress requesting its immediate halt.
According to the associations, the rule not only contravenes European Regulation 2024/1028, but also "concentrates tourist activity even more in the hands of large asset holders, investment funds, and hotel groups that are appropriating the sector."
“In no case are we against the single window, but we are against the way the Government has legislated it”, explain the sector representatives, who are putting private owners on a war footing against a decree that “intends to establish a second registry of homes in the Land Registry”.
Six alleged illegalities that compromise the rule
The sector representatives denounce what they consider "multiple legal violations" in the Royal Decree that will come into force on July 1, 2025. They highlight "the lack of competence of the State to establish a single registration procedure already regulated by the European Commission, and the violation of exclusive competences of the Autonomous Communities in matters of tourist homes."
They consider especially serious "the violation of article 4.3 d) of the European Regulation, which expressly prohibits subjecting the same home to more than one registration procedure."
“All tourist homes in the country must submit their responsible declaration to the Autonomous Community and are registered in an autonomous tourist registry. Despite this clear European prohibition, the Royal Decree obliges them to go through a new registration procedure with the same purpose before the Land Registry”, explain the associations.
"The rule also violates the principle of legal reservation by imposing obligations on landlords and platforms without protection in a rule of legal rank, alters the operating regime of the Land Registry contemplated in the Mortgage Law, and breaks the principle of voluntariness of the registration by imposing it obligatorily for temporary rental", they add.
From July 1, 2025, obtaining the registration number in the Land Registry will be mandatory to market vacation homes through digital platforms, which will have “disastrous repercussions for family economies”, according to the associations.
"The costs of the process are especially burdensome" they denounce. An owner of an unregistered home who wishes to obtain the number to temporarily rent their property must first proceed with the registration, “with an economic expense that amounts to more than 3,000 euros in most cases” between notary, registry and other expenses.
“Large assets and investment funds dedicated to this activity will have more ease in complying with the Royal Decree”, explain the associations, which denounce a process that "favors business concentration over small owners".
They warn that "homes located in rural areas will be particularly harmed", since it is where "it is most necessary for tourism to redistribute wealth.”
"The practical application of the decree is generating worrying situations of legal uncertainty. The property registrars are exceeding their qualifications”, they add, because they are analyzing aspects such as "the conformity of vacation homes with the urban planning, competences that correspond exclusively to municipalities and autonomous tourism councils."
“Situations of negative qualification are occurring for urban planning reasons against judgments of the courts of justice”, denounce the associations, which document how “each registrar is interpreting the rule in their own way and demanding what they consider appropriate.”
"The European Commission confirms the illegality"
According to them, the seriousness of the situation has transcended national borders. In a meeting of ASCAV in March of this year held with the European Commission, after the complaint filed against the Royal Decree for contravening Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, “the Commission highlighted the clear illegality in which the Spanish rule incurs for requiring a double registration for the temporary rental of tourist homes, against what is foreseen by the European rule.”
This European confirmation reinforces the position of the associations, which have already filed “three appeals before the Supreme Court” against a decree that they consider contrary to the principle of simplification of burdens that should govern the single window.
90% of homes, condemned to disappear
The most dramatic consequence they foresee from the decree will be the "massive exclusion" of owners from the market. “90% of the vacation homes that are currently marketed, despite having the corresponding enabling title presented to the corresponding autonomous government, will be excluded”, warn the associations.
This massive expulsion “will leave the activity of vacation homes in the hands of the large holders, breaking the objective of redistribution of wealth that tourism leaves in our country.”
Far from opposing the concept of a single window, the associations propose a solution that "would respect both the Spanish and European legal systems. The Royal Decree should have created the Digital Single Window for Leases and interconnected the autonomous tourist registries”, which are competent in this matter.
The proposal is based on the principle of interoperability of Public Administrations, “creating a 'gateway' between the autonomous registries and the window, so that the data that is registered in those registries is poured into it.”
The mobilization of the sector reflects the seriousness of a situation that will affect hundreds of thousands of private owners who have found a complementary source of income in vacation rentals. The associations consider that we are facing “the largest expulsion of small owners in the history of the Spanish tourism sector.”
