What is the Unique Registration Number? (NRA)
Since 1 July, it has been mandatory for all advertisers of a short-term rental apartment (holiday, temporary or room) to have an identifier provided by the property registrars so that the authorities can control and supervise this type of lease. There is no maximum period to apply for this code, but as long as this code is not available, the property cannot be marketed on digital platforms where there is an economic transaction.
What is the Unique Registration Number?
It is the official and mandatory identification code that is granted to each property through the Single Registry of Tourist and Seasonal Rentals that properties that are rented on a temporary or holiday basis must have. This registry allows the authorities to control and supervise this type of rental. The rule was announced last December in Royal Decree 1312/2024 and came into force in January, but it has been mandatory since July 1, 2025.
What is the Single Register for short-term rentals for?
It serves to regulate and control the temporary rental market, ensuring that they comply with safety, health and tax regulations, and also to protect the rights of tenants and owners.
Single Registry of tourist rentals, in which cases does it apply?
As Fuentes-Lojo points out, European regulations speak of host, that is, anyone interested in marketing a home part of it for seasonal use. It can be the owner, but it could be a tenant with the power to sublet. It could also be a usufructuary, that is, one who has a legal disposition, a legitimate possessory title to be able to lease for seasonal purposes.
If the same property is tourist and seasonal, does it need several codes?
You'll need a code for each type of rental, whether it's tourist, seasonal or room. Therefore, if your three types of rental are considered different according to the regulations, you should get three different codes for the same property. For each code you have to pay 27 euros.
Accommodations exempt from carrying out the Single Registry
The accommodations that are normally exempt are those that are classified as second homes and that are not intended for short-term rental. Also exempt are hotels, aparthotels, motels, hostels, campsites, rural houses, traditional rentals (with more than a year of contract) and accommodations that are promoted offline.
In addition, regulated and correctly registered accommodation in their respective regional registers are not considered holiday homes or occasional leases, so they are not affected by the obligation to register in the new state procedure.
According to the Spanish Association of Rural Tourism (Asetur), the only obligation that would be required of these establishments would be to include their regional registration number on the platforms and portals where they market their tourist offer, without the need to duplicate said registration at the state level.
In short, as Fuentes-Lojo recalls, it is mandatory for homes or rooms in a home, as well as for accommodation on ships, boats or naval artifacts, whose use is not that of habitual residence, but for short-term rental.
The Digital One-Stop Shop: short-term accommodation rentals
It is an online platform of the Ministry of Housing where owners can carry out all the procedures related to the registration of their properties for short-term rentals. Through this website, you can request the registration number from the Association of Registrars by means of the electronic certificate.
To request the registration number, the advertiser must have the cadastral reference and the exact address of the property, must detail whether it will be rented as a whole or by rooms, the number of people who will be able to use it and must comply with the requirements established in the Autonomous Community where the house is located.
On which digital platforms is it necessary to have the Single Registry?
For legal purposes, the new regulatory framework expressly distinguishes so-called "online short-term rental platforms", defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 as: "an online platform within the meaning of Article 3(i); of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 allowing guests to enter into distance contracts with hosts for the provision of short-term accommodation rental services. "
This definition includes, therefore, portals where the rental contract is formalized (with a reservation or booking) and the payment is made entirely in the digital environment. In these cases, the registration number will be mandatory in order to be legally advertised from July 1, 2025.
On the other hand, websites or media that act as mere "showcases" for accommodation are excluded, without facilitating the formalisation of distance contracts. This is the case of classified ad portals (such as idealista), personal websites without a booking engine, or offline channels, such as physical agencies or print advertising.
Lawyer Alejandro Fuentes-Lojo recalls that it does not have to be a professional who sells the property, but it can also be a private individual with the intention of marketing the property on a digital platform where there is an economic consideration. Therefore, it is not mandatory for the mere fact of advertising the rental on the internet.
How often should platforms update data?
Once the number has been obtained (first a provisional NRA is obtained to be able to market it in 24 hours and then the definitive one), that number has an indefinite duration. The cost is 27 euros and is paid only once, which is the cost of registration.
According to Alejandro Fuentes-Lojo, this code is subject to an annual check every 12 months by the Registry, including the registrar. "The Ministry will have to approve an informative model in which hosts must report annually to the Land Registry on the activity and on the continuity of these leases so that the registrar can control if it is really being exercised the activity correctly and if those lease contracts are really being produced correctly and, therefore, we are not producing situations of fraud of the law, which can be, for example, in some way covering up long-term leases and really that the registrar could even check and demand if that cause of temporality is met to avoid that fraudulent use", says the lawyer.
What happens if your Unique Registration Number is denied?
If you are denied registration, you will not be able to legally rent the property and could face penalties. It is important to clarify the discrepancies or correct what has led to the denial.
Alejandro Fuentes-Lojo points out that it is an administrative registry that depends on the Land Registry and, therefore, there is a very exhaustive control of legality. "It is not surprising that many of these qualifications come with defects or are even definitively classified as negative. The affected person may appeal both administratively within a month to the General Directorate of Notarial Registry or even optionally, directly to the courts. Even if it is an administrative resolution, within two months it can be appealed to the Court of First Instance through an oral trial. It is curious, but it is the system that we have in the Mortgage Law that establishes that the appeal procedure against a negative classification, insofar as it is mortgage law and, therefore, it is real estate law and civil law, the competent court is not the administrative litigation, but is really the civil judge", sentence.
The lawyer also points out that there are a large number of homes that do not comply with the regulations, especially when there is a community of owners. Because if the property is in a community of neighbors, there are prohibitions on that activity and, therefore, the registrant really checks whether there is a prohibition in the community statutes.
Penalties for non-compliance with regulations
For Fuentes-Lojo this is the point that is least developed in the law. "There is a transitory provision that establishes that an 'ad hoc' sanctioning regime will be created. But there is still no 'ad hoc' sanctioning regime for non-compliance with these administrative obligations. That does not mean that you cannot be sanctioned. The sanctioning regime depends on each autonomous community, as well as the amount of the sanctions".
Source: idealista.com
Written by: Paloma Martínez-Almeida