Andalucia along with many other Spanish autonomous regions, Andalucia finally published its regulatory holiday rentals decree on 11/2016 and the law became operative in may the same year. The law basically obliged thousands of homeowners to register their property declaring it as a rental holiday property. On behalf of Rafleys we have prepared a small guide to help you follow the process and familiarize you with the necessary steps to take. It is vital, that you do take the responsibility to register your property. Fines were soaring high back in 2016 and up to today. So owning a rental business is also a lot of responsibility!
How to register your holiday rental and where to present it in Andalucia!
One way to register your property if you do not have the time to deal with the physical paperwork is to get your property registered online! You can easily get the registration done by going to the following link online registration form and choose the option for “Declaración responsable para el acceso o ejercicio de la actividad”. Once you complete that form you could either present it at a local office of Delegaciones Territoriales de Cultura, Turismo y deporte If you are a foreign homeowner living in Spain, you can also entrust your lawyer to present it on your behalf.
Along with your application form, you will need to take the below papers with you.
- Property cadastral reference document ( this can be found on your contract of purchase Escritura in Spanish or in your IBI tax receipt).
- The license of the first occupation ‘Licencia de Primer Ocupación’ or “Cedula de Habilidad”Your NIE and your Passport
- A confirmation of your legal address where notifications and post mail can be delivered
AIf you do prefer a property agent or legal representative to take care of your paperwork, you just need to entrust them legally to take care of the registration and be available for any property inspections etc. On the other hand, if you have a digital signature you can actually also submit the form online or last option you might prefer to send it via post office. Please note that you can not really start your rental business up until you have presented all your paperwork to the local office. The online registration as such does not yet give you the legal right to rent and you will need to wait until an inspection is made to your property and the process is complete.
The Inspection Process
When you take your paperwork to the local office of Territorial Delegations of Culture, Tourism and Sports an inspection of your property will follow as part of your application process. The representative on your application referred in the form of Declaración responsable para el acceso o ejercicio de la actividad” will then be contacted to confirm an inspection date. Whether it’s you, your legal representative or an agency, make sure you’re available to schedule the inspection visit. Your property will need to meet the structural legal requirements such as air conditioning/heating conditions. The inspector will also check your paperwork i.e. Licence of First Occupation, Title Deeds, etc What properties could be qualified as properties eligible for touristic occupation? Properties situated/built on residential plot could be perspective properties for touristic occupation as a general rule of thumb! However, we could furthermore differentiate into two categories the properties
Minimum criteria to register a holiday rental in Andalucia
For the summer season * which lasts between like May to September you need to make sure the apartment is air-conditioned and between October and April, it must also be fitted with a heating system with a temperature maintained at 19 degrees Bedrooms should have curtains or shutters for obscuring the window light Linen and towels must be provided and an extra set added for the guests The apartment/accommodation needs to be adequately furnished to host the guests Pre and Post stay cleanings in between the guest switches are mandatory. It’s up to you to offer extra cleaning services during the stay A medical kit should be available in the accommodation. Tourist information such as nearby facilities and amenities should be provided to all guests facilitating their stay Rural Tourist Accommodation Housing Houses and properties located in more natural rural zone set, by a river, in the countryside, a forest or a farmland etc. Standard Touristic occupation properties Any coastal properties situated within a village or town with more than 20K can be classified into this category as such. Touristic occupation properties have two options for occupancy/registration: Whole house renting, which means you can host up to a maximum of 15 guests and they need to book the whole property. Room renting: in this second case you must yourself be living at the declared address and rent your apartment/house rooms.Maximum number of guests should be at 6 and if you are going for this category, you’d need to present your certificate of registration when you apply for your Licence of First Occupation (Licencia de Primera Ocupación) If you want to offer any extra services such as:
- Daily changing of bed linen.
- Daily changing of bath towels.
- Daily cleaning of property/room.
- Room service (food and beverage), catering.
- Bed & Breakfast.
- Others
Then your rental may be regarded as similar to hotel accommodation and this would oblige you to pay IVA for the transactional services that you offer your guests! In case of breakfast offerings, for example, you might also receive inspections from health & safety department which means you d need to carefully prepare your offerings and be up to the required standards! Maximum Limit of guest occupation! The maximum duration of the rental by the same host can be up to two weeks only! If the same host stays for more than 2 weeks it might be considered as a long-term rental process which goes under a different legislation. The license of First Occupation Your property must have a license of the first occupation. You won’t need this to register, but if you don’t have one we recommend you apply for it straight away, and be prepared to present this to the Junta, inspector or any other administrative body when asked. Must Haves and Must dos for managing your rental business once you have the Touristic Occupational Licence
You will have to provide an official complaints form for guests and inform the guests of the availability and the place of the complaint forms at the property. Your guests will need to fill out a Guest ID form which they will need to be submitted to the Police ( Guardia Civil ) User manuals & instructions for electrical domestics and electrical appliances must be provided and displayed to the guests upon arrival. Same goes for wifi access, alarm systems, access cards, or similar and any other technology or device that might be necessary during their stay making their stay autonomous and comfortable. All prices for advertisement should include house bills and usage of all available equipment and devices. All guests must receive a written booking confirmation, which includes total price of the stay, any extra charges that might be involved and deposit. Receipts, proof of payments for each guest occupation must be archived and accurately by the homeowners along with guest contracts and made available to the Junta de Andalucia or government administration office (e.g. Hacienda) for the period of one year upon the annual declaration. Guests must receive a receipt each time they make a payment towards their stay or ancillary services. Guests should also be provided with the owner or property manager contact details with the indication of the license number, number of guests, check in and out dates, total price of the rental and a 24-hour emergency number Homeowners should also provide the guests with clear home rules in regards to pets, smoking, etc. along with the general community regulations Rafleys runs a dedicated rentals management business off and on ground. We help thousands of happy homeowners to become rental business owners. If you would like us to take of all your paperwork and help you get set and running, do not hesitate to contact us: INFO@rafleys.com whatsapp +34 674 91 59 60
