Continuing with our investigations into the holiday rental licence law in Spain, we spoke to the Government of the Balearic Islands to find out how the new law affects holiday rentals on Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
The most important point to cover is that this legislation only covers detached and semi-detached villas, it does not extend to apartments. The law does not allow for apartments to be rented out for touristic purposes. If you do want to rent out your apartment for short-term durations, you may do so under the 'Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos' (Urban Leases Act). This law allows any type of home to be rented out short-term, but NOT for touristic purposes. Your home must not be advertised in any form or in any media as a holiday or vacactional rental and you must not offer any touristic services.
As with the other communities, the Balearic Islands now identifies two types of tourist accommodation:
- Accommodation that are run as a business and offers touristic services i.e. 'establecimientos de alojamiento de turismo rural' and 'apartamentos turísticos'.
- It now also identifies ‘Viviendas Turisticas’, or private holiday homes, which can be registered and used for holiday rentals (as above, apartments are not eligible).
How to register your private holiday home
If you have a privately-owned villa that you would like to register, you should apply for an ETV number (Estancia Turistica en Viviendas) at the offices of the Director General of Tourism. Here you can find out how to apply for your holiday rental licence on the Balearic Islands. The information and application form is only available in Spanish, but we have translated the main details for you below:
Property types that may apply for the ETV:
Detached villas (one home on a plot) and semi-detached villas.
Who can apply for a licence and what are the requirements?
Individuals or companies who promote a residential home for touristic short-term stays. This also includes owners who alternate between using the home as a holiday rental and using it for their own personal use.
Your home should have no more than six bedrooms and offer a maximum of 12 guest spaces. There should be a bathroom for every three guests i.e. you must have at least one bathroom for up to five guests, two bathrooms for six-eight guests, three bathrooms for 9-11 guests and four bathrooms for 12 guest spaces.
Paperwork:
There’s quite a lot of paperwork to prepare to apply for your ETV registration. We have tried to detail this as simply as possible, but you may find that some of these documents and details are needed at different points in the registration process.
Firstly, you will need to fill out both the DRIAT application form (Documento de Responsibilidad de Inicio de Actividad de Turismo) and the ETV Questionnaire and prepare the required documentation. Take all of this with you to the offices of the Director General of Tourism and explain that you wish to register your villa for an ETV number:
- Valid passport/ personal identification of the owner or a legal representative
- You will also need to take along the property floorplans
- Name, address, IDUFIR registration number (Identificador Único de Finca Registral), plot size
- Location, capacity and square meterage of bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, kitchen and terrace
- Building features: number of units, location, unit identification (garage, summer house) and number of floors in each unit
- Description of common areas (if applicable)
There is a one-off tax due on registering your property. A fixed fee of 24.84 € per guest. Example: if your holiday homes sleeps eight guests, you will pay 198.72 € to register the property.
Of course, you will also need to declare your holiday rental earnings at the end of the year in the ‘Declaración de la Renta’ (end of year tax return).
How long does it take to register my home?
From application to receiving your ETV registration number, should take a maximum of six months. During this time you will receive an inspection visit to check that your home complies with all the statutory requirements. Don't worry if you don't hear anything during the process, this is positive!
Where do you apply for the ETV Number?
If your villa is in Mallorca, visit:
Offices in Palma Arena
Tel: +34 971 178 999
If your villa is in Menorca, visit:
Island Council (Consejo Insular), Tourism Department
Seu del CIM Pl. de la Biosfera
507703 Maó
Tel: +34 971 356 050
If your villa is in Ibiza, visit:
Island Council Tourism Department
Av. de Espanya, 49, 2d floor
07800 Eivissa
Tel: 971 195 433
For further information online, you can read the following resources in Castellano:
Click here to view the general tourist legislation for the Balearic Islands (Refer to articles 49-52)
General website containing information and application details for registering all types of accommodation on the Balearic Islands