The VUT licence (Andalusia)
Introduced under Decree 28/2016 and updated by Decree 31/2024, the VUT licence is what lets you legally rent your property to tourists in Andalusia. Every short-term rental listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO or any online platform needs one.
Who grants it — and how quickly
The Junta de Andalucía’s regional tourism office. Application is via their online portal. For straightforward cases we’ve seen licences issued in as little as one working day, though 2–5 days is more typical. The speed depends largely on how complete the supporting documents are — which is where a manager familiar with the process makes a real difference.
Whose name the licence is in
A detail many owners miss: under current Andalusian and Spanish regulations, both the VUT licence and the NRUA number must be registered in the name of the rental management company — not the individual owner. This is because the manager is the entity taking commercial responsibility for the short-term rental activity.
For owners, this is actually the better deal. Licence holder responsibilities — annual filings, guest-registration obligations, tax liaison, compliance audits — sit with us, not with you. When we manage a property, our name goes on the licence; your rental income still arrives in your account. See how the management package works.
The 2024 community vote rule
This rule only applies to new VUT applications. If your property already holds a valid VUT licence, it continues to operate under the previous rules — you do not need a community vote to keep running.
For new applications in community buildings (apartment block, townhouse development, urbanisation), Decree 31/2024 requires a 3/5 majority vote from community owners before the Junta will process the licence. In practice: you call a community meeting (ordinary or extraordinary), formally propose your VUT application, and get it on the minutes with enough votes in favour.
Some communities have blanket short-term rental bans written into their statutes — check before buying if this matters to you. And beware: some newer developments explicitly prohibit holiday rentals entirely, regardless of when a licence was issued.
What you need before applying
- Property ownership documentation (escritura)
- Community vote in favour (where applicable)
- Proof of insurance for short-term rental use
- Minimum quality standards (beds, bathrooms, kitchen — VUT has a specifications table)
- Occupancy licence from the property (licencia de primera ocupación)
- Cedula de habitabilidad or equivalent
The NRUA (national number)
The NRUA (Número de Registro Único de Alquiler) was introduced by Royal Decree 1312/2024 and became mandatory from 1 July 2025. It’s a national registration number all Spanish short-term rentals now need, on top of the regional VUT licence.
Why it exists
Spain’s central government wanted a single national registry of short-term rentals to improve tax enforcement, housing policy data, and platform compliance. The NRUA number has to appear on every listing — Airbnb, Booking.com and others now block listings without one.
The annual N2 report
Every February, every NRUA-registered property must file an N2 report — essentially a summary of the previous year’s rental activity. Days rented, revenue, guest nights. Missing this is now an enforcement priority.
Do platforms enforce this?
Yes. Since mid-2025, Airbnb and Booking.com auto-block listings in Spain that don’t show a valid NRUA. If you’ve seen a listing “paused” or “under review”, nine times out of ten it’s NRUA compliance.