Housing has become one of the biggest concerns both for young people who want to become independent and for those workers who want to stabilize themselves. However, in addition to the high price per square meter in large cities, it is worth adding the problem of temporary rental housing or non-residential use.
Given this fact, and with the aim of helping citizens find an affordable home in their cities of origin, last April 2025 a reform of the Horizontal Property Law came into force, establishing the right of decision of neighborhood communities regarding the facility for tourist use.
The objective is to reduce vacation rentals
This measure, promoted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda and, specifically, by Minister Isabel Rodríguez, seeks to reduce the number of tourist homes. And, since its entry into force, it is mandatory for owners have the express approval of the neighborhood community before renting your property for non-residential or temporary purposes.
The application of this reform is limited to those properties that are located in a building subject to the horizontal property regime. This means that it will affect those buildings that have different homes or premises that belong to different owners, but share common elementssuch as the portal, the elevator or the facade.
Before the entry into force of this measure, Law 49/1960, of July 21better known as the Horizontal Property Law, did not establish a limit on the type of rental that owners could carry out on their property. However, with the reform introduced in 2025, those who want to establish a tourist apartment must have an express agreement from the community.
They need the favorable vote of three-fifths of the community
However, permission will not be obtained with a simple majority from the rest of the owners. It will be necessary to obtain the favorable vote of three fifths of the total and, in turn, that this percentage represents three fifths of the participation fees. Therefore, if a community has 10 neighbors, at least 6 of them must agree, as long as they also represent 60% of the quotas.
Likewise, if the community approves the tourist use of the home, it may also establish a special quota or an increase in participation in common expenses of up to 20%. On the contrary, if the request is denied, they may also prohibit the properties in their building from being rented for non-residential or temporary use. For all this, the same three-fifths majority will be required.
Tenants must register the home
On the other hand, as indicated by the Ministry of Housing on its website, Royal Decree 1312/2024, approved on December 23, created the Digital Single Window for Leases, with which all those owners who wanted to use their home for vacation rentals had to obtain an official registration number. To do this, they had to comply with current regulations, allowing them to offer themselves on digital platforms legally.
This measure came into force on January 2, 2025, creating another obligation for tenants of tourist apartments, with the aim of reducing rental fraud and making it easier for locals to find decent housing in their city. For all this, the owners require both the permission of the community and the State to be able to allocate your property to temporary holiday accommodation.