More and more Nordic property owners on the Costa Blanca choose to rent out their home during the weeks they do not use it themselves. It is an excellent way to cover the running costs of the property, but over the past year the rules have changed considerably. Since 1 July 2025, a regional tourist licence is no longer enough on its own: every holiday home must also hold a national registration number. Renting without it risks having your listing removed and facing substantial fines.
The new national registration number (NRUA)
Spain has introduced a national register for short-term rentals, managed through the Ventanilla Única Digital (the digital one-stop portal) and the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). Each property is assigned a unique number, the NRUA (Número de Registro Único de Alquiler), which links the property, the owner and the regional licence within a single national database.
Since 1 July 2025, platforms such as Airbnb and Booking are legally required to verify this number before a listing can be published. If the number is missing, the listing is normally removed within 48 hours. Fines for renting without proper registration can reach 60,000 euros under the national rules. The number is therefore not a formality to be postponed – it is a precondition for advertising legally at all.
The requirements in the Valencia region
On top of the national number, the regional rules still apply. In the Valencia region these were tightened by Decreto-ley 9/2024 (in force since August 2024). To register a tourist dwelling (VT) you now need, among other things, a declaración responsable, a municipal certificate confirming the dwelling may be used for tourist purposes (informe de compatibilidad urbanística), and a valid occupancy certificate (licencia de ocupación).
An important change is that the registration is now valid for five years and must be renewed. Properties registered before August 2024 have a transitional period of five years, counted from 8 August 2024, to adapt to the new requirements. In addition, some municipalities have introduced restrictions or moratoriums on new licences, so it is wise to check the position in your specific municipality before buying with the intention of renting out.
Tax on the rental income
As a non-resident you pay tax on your rental income in Spain through Modelo 210 (the non-resident income tax, IRNR). If you are resident in an EU/EEA country, the rate is 19 percent on the net result, and you may deduct expenses directly connected to the rental – for example mortgage interest, insurance, local taxes, electricity and water, and a proportional share of depreciation – but only for the days the property was actually rented out.
A concrete example: a property worth 200,000 euros is rented for ten weeks a year for a total of 9,000 euros. After deducting proportional costs of around 3,000 euros, the net result is 6,000 euros, and the tax is 19 percent of that, namely 1,140 euros. For the weeks the property is not rented out you instead pay the standard imputed income tax (renta imputada).
If you would like to calculate your own situation, you can use our free rental income tax calculator: https://colas-abogados.com/verktyg/hyresinkomstskatt/
Our recommendation
Before you start renting out, make sure of three things: that you hold a valid regional tourist licence, that you have applied for and obtained the national NRUA number, and that you declare the income correctly. We help Nordic owners with the whole process every day, from registration to quarterly tax returns, so that you can rent out with confidence and avoid unpleasant surprises.
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