Andalusia VFT Rules: Community Vetoes, Fines and What Costa del Sol Rental Buyers Owe

Andalusia VFT Rules: Community Vetoes, Fines and What Costa del Sol Rental Buyers Owe

If you are buying on the Costa del Sol with any intention of short-letting the property — even a few weeks a year to cover costs — the rules you need to understand sit in Andalusia's Vivienda con Fines Turísticos (VFT) regime. The framework has tightened significantly, and the quiet assumption many foreign buyers made a few years ago — "I'll just register it and rent it" — no longer holds. Communities of owners can now block you, municipalities can cap licences, and the fines for operating without proper paperwork are serious.

Here is a practical walk-through of what you owe, what you risk, and what to check before you sign anything.

What a VFT Actually Is

A VFT is a privately owned dwelling marketed through tourism channels (Booking, Airbnb, Vrbo, direct websites, agencies) for short stays. It is governed by Andalusia's tourism decree on housing for tourist use (originally Decreto 28/2016, substantially amended by Decreto 31/2024 and subsequent implementing rules under the Junta de Andalucía's Consejería de Turismo).

A VFT is not the same as:

• A Vivienda de Uso Turístico (VUT) in other autonomous communities — each region has its own regime.
• A Vivienda Turística de Alojamiento Rural (VTAR) — the rural equivalent.
• A long-term rental under the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU), which has entirely different rules and tax treatment.

If you let the property for stays of generally under two months and market it through tourism channels, you are in VFT territory and you need the licence.

The Community of Owners Veto — The Single Biggest Change

This is the point most foreign buyers miss, and it has changed the Costa del Sol market materially.

Under reforms to the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Article 17.12) that took effect in April 2025, a community of owners can approve or prohibit short-term tourist rentals in the building by a three-fifths (3/5) majority of owners representing three-fifths of participation quotas. Crucially:

• The vote applies to new VFT activity. Existing, properly registered VFTs generally keep their rights, but the exact grandfathering depends on when the unit was registered and when the community vote took place.
• Communities can also impose a surcharge of up to 20% on the common-area fees paid by tourist-let units.
• Many Costa del Sol communities — especially in Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmádena and central Málaga — have already held these votes. A growing number have voted to prohibit new VFTs.

Before you buy, request from the seller or administrator a current copy of the community statutes and the minutes (actas) of the last three years of general meetings. Have your abogado read them. A unit sold as "ideal for Airbnb" may already be legally barred from that use.

Municipal Caps and Zoning

On top of the community vote, several Andalusian municipalities have introduced their own limits:

• Málaga capital has suspended new VFT registrations in multiple central districts and declared "saturated zones" where no new licences will be granted. Check the current list on the Ayuntamiento's urbanismo portal.
• Seville, Cádiz and Granada have similar zonal restrictions.
• Smaller Costa del Sol towns are following. Expect further tightening through 2026.

Your property must comply with the Plan General de Ordenación Urbanística (PGOU) of its municipality. If the ground-floor or specific building typology is excluded from tourist use, no regional VFT registration will save you.

The Registration Process

Assuming the community allows it and the municipality has not frozen your zone, the VFT process looks like this:

1. Obtain the Licencia de Ocupación / Cédula de Habitabilidad or equivalent first-occupation certificate — the Junta will not register a dwelling without it.
2. File a Declaración Responsable with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (RTA) through the Junta's electronic office. You receive a provisional VFT code immediately upon filing.
3. Display the VFT code on every listing, advertisement and booking channel. Operating without displaying it is itself a sanctionable offence.
4. Meet the minimum habitability standards: direct ventilation or patio in every bedroom, air conditioning in bedrooms and living areas (hot and cold, depending on the municipality's climate zone), first-aid kit, tourist complaint sheets (hojas de reclamaciones), guest information in multiple languages, and 24-hour contact number.
5. Register guests with the Guardia Civil / Policía Nacional via the SES Hospedajes platform within 24 hours of check-in, including passport, nationality, payment method and other data mandated by Real Decreto 933/2021 (in force since late 2024).

Fines — What You Actually Risk

Sanctions under Andalusia's tourism law are tiered. Figures are indicative and periodically updated by the Junta — confirm the current scale with the Consejería de Turismo or your abogado before relying on any number:

• Minor infractions (e.g., missing complaint sheets, failure to display the VFT code): typically up to a few thousand euros.
• Serious infractions (operating without registration, false information on the declaración responsable, serious habitability failures): generally in the tens of thousands of euros, with reports in 2025 of ceilings up to €150,000.
• Very serious infractions (repeat offences, operating in a prohibited zone, endangering guests): can exceed €150,000 and include closure orders.

Separately, failing to upload guest data to SES Hospedajes carries its own sanction regime under the Ministry of the Interior, with per-incident fines that stack quickly across a busy season.

Taxes You Owe as a Short-Term Landlord

A VFT generates rental income that must be declared in Spain regardless of your residency:

• Non-resident EU/EEA owners file Modelo 210 quarterly, taxed at 19% on net income (deductible expenses allowed).
• Non-resident non-EU owners (US, Canada, UK, post-Brexit) are taxed at 24% on gross income — no expense deductions. This is the single most expensive surprise for American and Canadian buyers.
• Resident owners declare the income in their IRPF annual return at the ordinary progressive scale.
• IVA (VAT) at 10% applies if you provide hotel-like services (daily cleaning, breakfast, concierge). Pure accommodation without those services is IVA-exempt but subject to the regional ITP on short-stay contracts in some interpretations — ask a Spanish asesor fiscal.
• Many Andalusian municipalities also levy or are preparing a tourist tax (tasa turística) per guest per night. Málaga and other councils have active proposals for 2026.

Tax rules, thresholds and rates change frequently. Always confirm the current year's figures with the Agencia Tributaria or a licensed Spanish asesor fiscal before filing.

Due Diligence Checklist Before You Buy a "Rental" Property

• Read the community statutes and recent actas — look for any 3/5 vote on tourist use.
• Check the municipality's PGOU and saturation declarations.
• Confirm the building has a valid Licencia de Primera Ocupación.
• If the seller claims an active VFT, verify the code directly in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía public search.
• Ask whether the unit meets current habitability standards (A/C, ventilation) — retrofitting can be expensive in older buildings.
• Factor in community fee surcharges of up to 20% in your yield model.
• Model your tax at the correct rate — 24% gross for non-EU owners is not a rounding error.

Short FAQ

Can I rent occasionally without a VFT licence? No. Any marketing of the property for short tourist stays through any channel triggers the registration obligation. A single Airbnb listing is enough.

Can my community kick out my existing VFT? Generally existing registered VFTs are protected, but the scope of grandfathering is being tested in the courts. Document your registration date carefully.

Does buying through an SL (Spanish company) change anything? It changes your tax treatment, not your VFT or community obligations. The licence attaches to the dwelling, not the owner.

What about long-term rentals? Rentals over the LAU threshold are a different regime, generally not subject to VFT rules or the community veto — but they carry their own rent-control and tenant-protection obligations in stressed zones.

The Bottom Line

The Costa del Sol short-let model still works — but only for buyers who do the paperwork before the offer, not after. Verify the community vote, the municipal zoning and the licence feasibility with an independent Spanish abogado of your choice (never the seller's). Treat any "turnkey rental" sales pitch that skips these three checks as a red flag. Laws, fines and tax rates in this area are moving fast; confirm every figure in this guide with the Junta de Andalucía, the Agencia Tributaria or a licensed professional before you act.