The number of Spain’s tourist flats fell in November 2025, down from a year earlier.
The drop follows the introduction of a national short-term rental register last year, which requires landlords to obtain approval before listing properties on booking platforms.
Rental register cuts listings
Spain recorded 329,764 active tourist flats in November 2025, a 12.4% drop from 376,463 a year earlier, according to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). The figure also marks a 13.6% fall from May 2025, shortly before a national short-term rental register became mandatory.
The current total is the lowest since February 2023, based on INE’s statistical series. Compared with the peak in August 2024, when more than 403,000 units were listed, the number of Spanish tourist flats has fallen by about 18%.
Authorities said that the new register aims to improve oversight of holiday rentals. From July 2025, landlords must obtain a registration number before listing properties on platforms that process payments.
Shrinking housing share
Tourist flats now account for 1.24% of Spain’s housing stock, down from 1.41% a year earlier and 1.43% in May 2025. The shift means fewer homes are officially available for short-stay visitors.
Capacity has also dropped. INE reports that tourist flats offered about 1.62 million beds in November 2025, down from roughly 1.89 million a year earlier.
The average capacity per property fell slightly to 4.93 beds. The previous release showed an average of just over five beds per flat.
Andalusia bucks trend
Despite the national decline, Andalusia has continued to grow its supply of tourist flats. The region recorded 91,757 units, a 1.2% rise compared with the previous year.
The Canary Islands followed with 49,676 tourist flats, a drop of about 3%. The Valencian Community recorded the steepest decline among large regions, falling 25% to 48,411 properties.
Catalonia counted 46,915 tourist flats, down 11%. The Balearic Islands saw numbers fall almost 20% to just under 19,400 units.
Madrid registered one of the sharpest declines among major markets. The region had about 15,309 tourist flats, a fall of 26% year on year.
Málaga stays top province
At the provincial level, Málaga remains Spain’s largest market for tourist flats. The province recorded more than 48,200 units at the end of November 2025.
Alicante ranked second with nearly 30,000 properties. Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife followed with more than 27,000 and 22,000 units, respectively.
Other provinces with strong tourist rental markets include Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona and Cádiz. Several northern provinces, such as A Coruña and Asturias also appear among the 20 largest markets.
Most remaining provinces recorded fewer than 3,000 tourist flats. This shows how concentrated the sector remains in coastal destinations and major tourist regions.
Tightening registration rules
The new national system requires each short-term rental property to obtain a Short-term Rental Number, known as NRUA. Without the code, the property cannot be listed on digital platforms that handle payments.
Spain’s College of Registrars, which issues the codes, reported that nearly 300,000 properties had obtained an NRUA by early January 2026. Another 16,581 properties had received provisional approval.
Authorities have rejected more than 84,000 applications so far. This equals about 21% of all requests submitted for registration.
Officials said that rejected applications often lacked a valid tourist licence or failed to secure approval from the building’s homeowners’ association. Other cases involved protected housing that must remain a primary residence.
Applications may also be refused if the person submitting the request is not the registered property owner. Errors in property records can also lead to rejection.
Housing ministry backs rules
Spain’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda said the fall in tourist flats supports its plan to regulate short-term rentals. Officials linked the decline to both the national register and changes to the Horizontal Property Law.
The law allows homeowners’ associations to restrict tourist lets within residential buildings. This gives neighbours more control over whether flats in their building can operate as holiday rentals.
A ministry statement said that the measures help address illegal rentals and housing pressure in popular cities. Officials said that these practices can raise housing costs and push residents out of central neighbourhoods.
The government also argued that tighter controls protect the long-term housing market. Local authorities in cities with heavy tourism have pushed for stronger oversight of short-stay properties.
Economists question price impact
Some property specialists question whether cutting tourist flats will reduce rents. Several economists and lawyers raised doubts during a property conference in Barcelona in January.
Spanish economist Gonzalo Bernardos claimed that the housing shortage is a bigger issue. “The story has wiped out the facts,” he said during a talk at the Círculo Ecuestre.
Bernardos argued that short-term rentals make up a small share of the housing market. He said the main solution to rising rents is building more homes rather than restricting holiday flats.
Other speakers at the event shared similar views. They said rental prices depend largely on housing supply in major cities.
New border checks shape travel
New EU border systems may also influence demand for Spanish tourist flats.
The Entry/Exit System (EES), introduced in October 2025, records when non-EU travellers enter and leave the Schengen Area for short stays of up to 90 days, replacing manual passport stamps with digital records.
Another change is the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), expected to start in the final quarter of 2026, which will require travellers from visa-exempt countries to obtain online approval before entering many European destinations, including Spain.
While these checks aim to manage borders and track short visits, they could also shape how often visitors plan trips and how long they stay, which in turn affects demand for short-term rentals.
Long-haul visitors drive stays
Travel trends from long-haul markets also influence Spain tourist flats. Visitors from regions outside Europe often stay longer than short-break travellers, making apartments and holiday flats a common choice for accommodation.
When arrivals from these markets rise, short-term rentals in cities and coastal areas often see stronger demand. If long-haul travel slows or shifts to hotels and organised tours, the number of nights booked in tourist flats may also change.
Rental rules reshape market
The fall in Spain’s tourist flats shows how tighter rules and registration checks are changing the short-term rental market. The number of properties listed for tourist stays has dropped to its lowest level since early 2023.
For travellers, landlords and residents, the figures point to a more controlled system for holiday rentals in Spain. Authorities will continue tracking the sector through the national register, which could lead to further changes in how tourist flats operate across the country.