Holiday Rental Restrictions in the Balearic Islands: Licence Moratoriums and the 2026 Reality

Buying an apartment or villa in Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca or Formentera with the dream of letting it on Airbnb for part of the year? Before you sign anything, you need to understand that the Balearic Islands have the strictest holiday-rental regime in Spain — and it has tightened dramatically. In large parts of the archipelago, obtaining a short-term tourist licence for a newly bought property is simply not possible, regardless of how much you pay or how beautiful the home is.

This guide walks you through the current reality in 2026, what a tourist licence (ETV) actually is, where moratoriums apply, how licences are valued at purchase, and the pitfalls that catch foreign buyers most often.

Why the Balearics Regulate So Hard

The islands host more than 18 million visitors a year against a resident population of roughly 1.2 million. Housing affordability for locals, water scarcity, and infrastructure saturation have pushed the Govern Balear and island councils (consells insulars) to use tourist licences as a cap-and-control tool. The headline law remains Law 8/2012 on Tourism of the Balearic Islands, substantially amended by Law 6/2017 and Law 3/2022, and reinforced by the island-level PIAT plans (Pla d'Intervenció en Àmbits Turístics).

Enforcement is real: fines for unlicensed letting typically range from €20,000 to €40,000 for serious infractions and can reach €400,000 for very serious ones. Platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo) are legally required to display the licence number and share data with the regional tourism authority. Verify current fine bands with the Conselleria de Turisme before relying on any figure.

The Licence Types You Will Hear About

• ETV (Estancias Turísticas en Viviendas) — the licence for letting a whole dwelling for stays under 30 days.
• ETV-Unifamiliar — detached and semi-detached houses.
• ETV-Plurifamiliar (apartments) — flats inside multi-family buildings. This is the most restricted category.
• ETV-60 días — a limited "principal residence" modality allowing the owner to let their own home up to 60 days per year, under tight conditions.

If you want to rent for 31 days or more, you are in the residential rental regime (LAU), which does not require a tourist licence — but marketing it as a "holiday" let on tourism platforms will still trigger inspection.

The Moratorium: Where You Can and Cannot Get a Licence

In February 2022, the Govern declared a general moratorium on new tourist-rental licences across the Balearics. That freeze has been repeatedly extended and is still in force in 2026 while each island council finalises or revises its PIAT and zonificación maps. The practical picture, island by island:

• Mallorca — No new ETV licences are being issued in Palma for apartments in multi-family buildings; the Palma ban (in force since 2018) remains. In the rest of the island, licence availability depends on your municipality's zoning as apto, apto condicionado or no apto under the Consell de Mallorca's PIAT. Even in "apto" zones, the licence pool is capped and essentially exhausted.
• Ibiza (Eivissa) — No new ETV licences for apartments in multi-family buildings. For detached houses, availability is extremely limited and subject to municipal zoning. Several municipalities have declared themselves saturated.
• Menorca — Historically more restrictive; new licences for apartments are closed, and the Consell Insular manages a very small quota for houses.
• Formentera — Effectively closed to new licences.

The upshot: if you are buying an apartment in Palma, Ibiza town, Santa Eulària, Sant Antoni, San José, Maó or Ciutadella intending to run it as a short-term holiday let, assume you cannot get a new licence. Buying for that purpose is buying a problem.

How Existing Licences Work at Purchase

Because new licences are frozen, existing licences have become a tradable asset tied to the property. When a licensed home changes hands, the licence can transfer with it, but you must:

1. Confirm the licence is current, valid, and the correct modality for the dwelling (not an expired or suspended number).
2. Verify it in the official Registre d'Empreses, Activitats i Establiments Turístics of the Balearic Islands — your abogado can pull this.
3. Check that the cadastral reference, address, and number of plazas on the licence match the property exactly.
4. File the change of ownership with the Conselleria de Turisme within the statutory window after completion (typically a few weeks — confirm the current deadline).
5. Ensure the community of owners' statutes do not prohibit tourist use — since the 2019 reform of the Horizontal Property Law, a 3/5 majority of owners can ban or restrict holiday letting in the building, and many communities have done exactly that.

A valid, transferable ETV licence can add €40,000 to €150,000+ to the price of a comparable property, depending on location and plaza count. Treat the licence as part of the asset — and insist your lawyer makes the purchase conditional on verified licence transfer.

Due Diligence Checklist for Foreign Buyers

Before signing the contrato de arras (deposit contract), your independent lawyer should confirm:

• The property's cadastral and Registro de la Propiedad entries match the sales title.
• The ETV number exists, is active, and corresponds to this exact dwelling.
• The community statutes permit tourist rental (ask for a certified copy from the administrator).
• The building has a valid cédula de habitabilidad and energy certificate.
• No open sanctioning files from the Conselleria de Turisme.
• Zoning status of the municipality under the current PIAT.
• Whether the property sits in a protected rustic zone (ANEI, ARIP), which further restricts use.

If any of these fail, walk away or renegotiate — do not accept verbal assurances from the seller or agent.

The 60-Day Owner-Occupier Route

If your plan is more modest — spending part of the year at your Balearic home and letting it the rest — the ETV-60 modality may be available for your principal residence. It requires you to be registered on the municipal padrón, caps letting at 60 days per calendar year, and still demands licence application and zoning compatibility. It is not a workaround for pure investment buyers.

Pitfalls That Catch Foreign Buyers

• "The licence is coming" promises. No. There is a moratorium. If the licence is not already issued and transferable, it does not exist.
• Advertising without a licence number. Illegal and heavily fined. Platforms will remove the listing on request from the Conselleria.
• Assuming a rural house = free pass. Rural and finca properties still need an ETV and must comply with ANEI/ARIP, water, and sewage rules.
• Buying off-plan with "rental projections". New-build apartments in multi-family buildings generally cannot obtain ETV licences in the current regime.
• Trusting the seller's lawyer. Always engage your own independent abogado registered with a Spanish bar (Colegio de Abogados).

Short FAQ

Can I rent long-term instead? Yes — stays of 31 days or more fall under the LAU residential regime, no tourist licence needed. Yields are lower but legal risk is minimal.

Will the moratorium ever lift? Each PIAT is reviewed periodically. Political direction in 2026 remains restrictive, with Palma and Ibiza likely to stay closed indefinitely for apartments.

Does Golden Visa or residency help? No. Immigration status is irrelevant to tourist-licence eligibility.

What about room rentals within my home? Letting individual rooms in your principal residence is a separate, narrower modality with its own rules — confirm with your municipality.

Final Word

The Balearic Islands remain one of Europe's most desirable second-home markets, but the economic model of "buy an apartment, Airbnb it, cover the mortgage" is effectively closed in 2026. Buy because you want to use the home, because it is a sound long-term asset, or because it already carries a verified transferable licence — not because an agent waved a rental spreadsheet at you.

Tourism laws, zoning plans, and fine levels in the Balearics change frequently and vary by island and municipality. Always verify the current rules with the Conselleria de Turisme del Govern Balear, the relevant Consell Insular, and an independent licensed Spanish attorney before you commit to a purchase or begin letting.