Thousands of vacation homes could re-enter market as Europe blocks double registration

The European Commission has been unequivocal in stating that the “Single Window” (also challenged before the Supreme Court) cannot overlap with the autonomous‑community registration system, and it has given Spain an ultimatum to eliminate the double registration. The 86,275 holiday‑home listings that the state decree forces to be removed from Booking or Airbnb – 13,700 of them in the Canary Islands – could soon be back on the market.

While Spanish authorities are still completing the withdrawal of the 86,275 holiday‑home listings—mainly from platforms such as Airbnb and Booking—because they lack the new state‑wide register, the “Single Window”, Europe has dealt a heavy blow to the measure.

The European Commission has set a deadline of 20 May 2026 for the Spanish government to resolve the duplicate‑registration issue that arises from regional regulations, such as the Canary Islands’ new Tourist Housing Law.

According to the EU executive, the registration must be carried out by the competent authority – the autonomous communities – while the central state should merely act as a data conduit to Brussels.

The so‑called Digital Single Window (Royal Decree 1312/2024), which obliges owners of holiday rentals to register in the State Property Registry, clashes head‑on with EU directives.

A meeting between the Ministry of Industry and Tourism and the European Commission took place in September 2025.

Moreover, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda (MIVAU) promoted the measure as a victory against fraud and a solution to the housing crisis, but its implementation is still pending a ruling from the Supreme Court after holiday‑rental associations challenged it.

Consequently, to curb the proliferation of tourist rentals and the resulting rise in long‑term rents, Spanish authorities—both national and regional—will have to coordinate their actions.

Digital Single Window: a System with a 20 % Error Rate

The Federation of Associations of Tourist Housing and Apartments (FAPAVAT), a platform that backs the Canary Association of Holiday Rentals (ASCAV), has publicly denounced what it sees as an attempt to “eradicate” legitimate owners’ rights.

The scale of the blockage is reflected in the figures: of the 421,253 applications received by the state register in the last year, 20 % were rejected, according to data published by El País.

“The system is rejecting one in five applications, effectively barring thousands of lawful owners from the market.”

13,700 Canary Island Owners Stuck in Limbo

The Canary archipelago ranks second nationwide for the number of rejections, with 13,700 registration requests denied by the state register.

This does not mean owners cannot continue to market their holiday homes; they may do so if they comply with the Canary Law. However, platforms such as Booking and Airbnb will remove the listing unless the owner can provide the NRUA code, which is issued by the state‑run property registry.

“Owners are caught between regional compliance and platform requirements, creating a deadlock for thousands of properties.”

About a Thousand “Illegal” Homes in Fuerteventura

Although the published data are not official or publicly accessible, several media outlets and organizations agree that 13,700 holiday homes are affected across the Canary Islands, most of them in tourist municipalities such as San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) and Adeje or Arona (Tenerife).

In Fuerteventura, 942 listings (more than double the number from a year ago) must be removed only in the municipality of La Oliva.

The situation is different in Pájara, which, despite a large stock of tourist rentals, is one of the few Canary municipalities that already has a specific local ordinance, along with Granadilla de Abona and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The European Ruling Traces Back to Andalusia

Although the conflict affects the whole of Spain, the decisive EU pronouncement did not stem directly from the state decree but from the review of Andalusia’s Sustainable Tourism Law. While examining this norm, Brussels detected a clash with EU law.

The Commission used the Andalusian case to remind Spain that EU Regulation 2024/1028 supersedes any national legislation.

“It is Brussels that reminds us the European regulation forbids subjecting the same dwelling to more than one registration procedure when a mandatory one already exists,” the Federation of Associations of Tourist Housing and Apartments explained.

Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, president of the Andalusian Government, visited the European Commission in February 2025 to discuss the matter.

ASCAV, the driving force behind FAPAVAT, sees the European decision as both a “backing” for the appeal it lodged before the Supreme Court the day after the Single Window (Royal Decree 1312/2024) came into force, and as a “pre‑sentence” awaiting a final judgment.

For the sector, it is “especially serious that the Royal Decree has been causing the eradication of tourist homes from the hands of thousands of private owners and management companies that were fully legal.”

The associations also argue that the decree breaches the Spanish Constitution by granting the central government powers that belong exclusively to the autonomous communities in the regulation of tourist accommodations.

“The decree oversteps constitutional limits, infringing on regional competencies while jeopardising legal certainty for owners.”

FAPAVAT stresses that it has never opposed regulation, a European “single register”, or any framework that provides legal certainty to the sector.

The article was written by Janey Castañeyra.