How many days can you rent out your vacation property per year in Spain? Limits by region

There is no single national day limit for vacation rentals in Spain. Each autonomous community sets its own rules: some impose a maximum number of days per year, others cap the duration of each individual stay, and several set no time limit at all. Knowing the exact limit for your region is essential to operate legally and avoid penalties.

This is one of the most common questions among owners just starting out — or those who've been renting for a while without checking. And the answer isn't simple, because it depends entirely on where your property is located. Renting in Barcelona is not the same as renting in Málaga, in Palma, or in Bilbao.

What is universal: if you exceed the limit set by your autonomous community, you face penalties ranging from license revocation to fines of thousands of euros. So it's worth getting the numbers straight.

The big picture: three regulatory models

Spain's autonomous communities follow, broadly speaking, three different approaches to time limits:

1. Maximum days per year

Some communities set a maximum number of days you can rent your property to tourists in a calendar year. If you exceed it, the activity is no longer considered vacation rental and falls under a different regime (or is simply considered a violation).

2. Maximum stay duration

Other communities don't limit how many days per year you can rent, but they do cap the maximum duration of each individual stay. If a guest stays longer than X days, the relationship stops being tourist accommodation and becomes a seasonal or residential lease.

3. No explicit time limit

Several communities don't set any day cap, either per year or per stay. That doesn't mean there's no regulation — you still need a license, registration, and must meet technical requirements — but there's no maximum number of days.

Limits by autonomous community: summary table

This table reflects the situation as of April 2026. Regulations change frequently, so always verify with the current legislation in your community.

Autonomous community	Annual limit	Max stay duration	Notes
Andalusia	No	2 months per stay	Over 2 months = seasonal lease
Aragon	No	Not explicit	Regulation focused on requirements, not days
Asturias	No	3 months per stay	Exceeding the term changes the contract type
Balearic Islands	Varies by zone	Not explicit	Palma bans multi-family buildings; moratorium zones
Canary Islands	No	3 months per stay	Differentiated regulation by island
Cantabria	No	Not explicit	No defined time cap
Castilla-La Mancha	No	Not explicit	Basic regulation without day limits
Castilla y León	No	Not explicit	No time restriction
Catalonia	No general	31 days per stay	Barcelona with license moratorium; municipalities can limit
Valencia	No	10-day minimum per stay	Minimum of 10 days in some areas (check municipality)
Extremadura	No	Not explicit	Minimal regulation
Galicia	No	3 months per stay	Over 3 months = lease
Madrid	90 days/year	Not explicit	Over 90 days requires a different activity license
Murcia	No	2 months per stay	Similar to Andalusia
Navarre	No	Not explicit	No time cap
Basque Country	No general	Not explicit	Bilbao and San Sebastián with municipal restrictions
La Rioja	No	Not explicit	No time limit

Important: this table is indicative. Municipalities can impose additional restrictions beyond their autonomous community's rules. Always check your local town hall regulations.

The most relevant cases in detail

Madrid: the 90-day limit

The Community of Madrid is the best-known case of an annual limit. The regulation states that if you rent your primary residence to tourists for more than 90 days per year, you need a different business activity license (the standard responsible declaration for tourist-use housing is not enough).

This has important practical implications:

• If you rent your primary residence during specific seasons (summer, Christmas, long weekends), 90 days is usually enough
• If your business model is year-round rental, you need a second property dedicated exclusively to tourist use, which doesn't count as a primary residence
• The limit applies to the owner's primary residence, not to second homes dedicated entirely to vacation rental

Key nuance: a second home that you dedicate exclusively to vacation rental doesn't have the 90-day limit, but it must meet all registration and licensing requirements as a tourist-use property.

Catalonia: 31 days per stay and Barcelona moratorium

Catalonia doesn't impose an annual day limit, but it does cap each stay at a maximum of 31 days. If a guest stays longer, the relationship becomes a seasonal lease regulated by the LAU (Urban Leasing Act).

Barcelona is a special case:

• Moratorium on new tourist licenses in effect
• Existing licenses are not renewed upon expiration (progressive phase-out plan)
• Additional restrictions by neighborhood and district
• Active inspections against illegal tourist apartments

If you own a property in Barcelona, the question isn't so much how many days you can rent, but whether you can rent at all.

Balearic Islands: restrictions by property type and zone

The Balearic Islands have one of Spain's most restrictive regulations:

• In Palma de Mallorca, vacation rental is banned in multi-family buildings (apartments in apartment blocks)
• Only allowed in single-family homes in certain zones
• A moratorium limits the total number of tourist beds
• Each island has its own nuances in application

Valencia: the minimum stay requirement

The Valencia region has a peculiarity: instead of a maximum, it sets a minimum stay in certain areas. Some municipalities require each booking to be at least 5 or 10 days, which limits the short-stay weekend model.

This varies by municipality and zone, so checking local regulations is essential.

What happens if you exceed the limit?

The consequences of exceeding the day limit vary by autonomous community, but generally include:

Activity reclassification

If you exceed the per-stay day limit, your activity may be reclassified as:

• Seasonal lease (regulated by the LAU)
• Primary residence lease (with all its tenant protections)

This completely changes the legal framework: notice periods, tenant rights, tax regime, etc.

Administrative penalties

If you exceed the annual limit (like the 90 days in Madrid) without the corresponding license:

• Fines ranging from €3,000 to €30,000 depending on severity
• Order to cease activity
• Possible loss of tourist license

Tax consequences

Exceeding certain thresholds may cause the tax authority to reclassify your activity:

• From real estate capital income to business activity
• Obligation to register as self-employed (autónomo)
• Obligation to charge VAT

How to track your rental days

Keeping an accurate record of days rented isn't just good practice — it's an implicit obligation to prove you're within the limits.

What you should record

• Check-in and check-out date for each guest
• Number of nights per stay
• Cumulative days rented in the calendar year
• Periods of personal use vs. availability for rental

Tools for tracking

• Platforms (Airbnb, Booking) provide occupancy reports, but if you use multiple platforms you need to consolidate the data
• Centralized management software gives you the complete picture
• Keep booking contracts or confirmations as documentary backup

Strategies to maximize profitability within the limit

If your autonomous community imposes a day cap, the key is maximizing revenue per available night:

• Focus on peak season: if you have 90 days, use them when prices are highest
• Dynamic pricing: adjust prices based on demand to extract maximum value from each night (more on dynamic pricing)
• Minimum stays: during peak season, set 3-5 night minimums to reduce turnovers and cleaning costs
• Optimize your listing: every night counts more when you have a cap, so make sure your listing converts (how to improve your listing)

Regulatory trend: toward more restrictions?

The trend in Spain is clear: more regulation, not less. In recent years:

• Several municipalities have imposed moratoriums on new licenses
• There's debate about uniform national limits
• The national single registry (NRUA) facilitates cross-administration control
• Social pressure against mass tourism drives additional restrictions

If you're thinking about starting to rent, the best time to get your license is now. Conditions will likely be more restrictive in the future.

How Autoregistro fits in

Autoregistro automatically records each stay with exact check-in and check-out dates, giving you a precise count of days rented in the year. This is especially useful if you operate in communities with annual limits like Madrid, where you need to know at all times how many days you've used. Additionally, by centralizing data from all your bookings, you can generate occupancy reports that serve as documentation during an inspection.