Supreme Court strikes down state vacation rental registry as regional competence

The Supreme Court has annulled the “Unique Registry of Short‑Term Leases” created by Royal Decree 1312/2024, ruling that the State lacks the competence to impose a national system that overlaps the autonomous registers already in place for tourist housing.

The decision is a landmark win for owners of vacation‑rental properties across Spain, and the Court is expected to rule similarly on the other four appeals filed on the same grounds – two of them coming from the Canary Islands, submitted by the Canary Association of Vacation Rentals (ASCAV) and the Government of the Canary Islands.

Concern in Spain and Europe Over Short‑Term Rentals

Sentence 620/2026 partially upholds a resource presented by the Generalitat Valenciana, striking only the part of the decree that forced the creation of a single state registry for marketing short‑term accommodations on digital platforms.

“There is a growing concern in Europe and Spain about this modality,” the Court noted, adding that a steady increase in short‑term rentals is affecting the regular housing market.

The judgment highlights several impacts:

• Reduction of long‑term rental stock
• Rising rental and property prices
• Access difficulties for residents, potentially leading to the progressive displacement of long‑time neighbourhood inhabitants

Nevertheless, the Court maintains the Digital Single Window for rentals and the data‑exchange obligations of platforms.

Data Collection Yes, but No State Registry

The Supreme Court concluded that tackling these effects does not permit the State to assume powers that belong to the autonomous communities. It rejected the idea that the central government could establish “an exhaustive regulation of a national register that overlaps existing regional registers” for tourist‑rental homes.

The judges also referred to EU Regulation 2024/1028 on data collection and exchange for short‑term rentals, stating that while the regulation requires adaptation of information systems, it does not prescribe a national registration procedure nor does it alter the internal competence distribution of each Member State.

Accordingly, the Court kept in place the measures related to digital coordination, platform data transmission, and statistical mechanisms, deeming them within State competences.

A Judicial Battle That Began More Than a Year Ago

The ruling follows months of institutional and legal conflict. As reported a year earlier, ASCAV challenged Royal Decree 1312/2024 before the Supreme Court and also lodged objections with the European Commission.

Owners argued that the state system created administrative duplication because vacation homes already have regional tourism registers, warning of possible extra costs, legal uncertainty, and added bureaucracy for small owners.

“The state norm ‘pretends to establish a second register of the homes’,” ASCAV asserted, proposing instead to link the European digital window directly to the existing regional registers.

The association also warned that a single property could be forced to undergo two separate registration procedures, a situation it deemed contrary to the EU regulation.

Canary Islands Also Challenged the State Decree

The Government of the Canary Islands filed its own appeal, arguing that the decree infringed on regional tourism competences. The regional Ministry of Tourism and Employment even called for the repeal of the state registry.

“The European Regulation is directly applicable,” said Regional Minister Jéssica de León, adding that the state decree had created “a bubble in the Autonomous Communities with that double register.”

The Canary administration warned that the measure generated legal insecurity, as discrepancies emerged between the legality recognized by the regions and the requirements imposed by the national system.

According to data released by the Canary government in February, only 27,700 registrations had completed the state procedure out of more than 415,000 rental listings marketed on digital platforms.

Four Pending Appeals

The judgment announced on Thursday resolves one of the five appeals that had reached the Supreme Court on this issue. The remaining pending procedures include:

• The appeal filed by the Government of the Canary Islands
• The appeal filed by ASCAV
• Additional appeals from other collectives and administrations

While each appeal will be decided individually, the precedent set by this ruling establishes a significant legal criterion: the State lacks competence to create a single national registry for short‑term rental properties. This interpretation is likely to shape the outcome of the remaining cases in the same direction.