Tourist rental in Valencia: you need neighbor permission if you registered after April 3, 2025

Key data

Property owners of tourist accommodations in Valencia who registered in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community after April 3, 2025 face an additional requirement that can block their activity: express authorization from the homeowners association. This is confirmed by the Resolution of January 29, 2026 from the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith, published on May 23, 2026 in the BOE.

The resolution stems from an appeal against the qualification note from the property registrar of Valencia no. 13, which suspended the assignment of the unique short-term tourist rental registration number to a property owner whose registration in the Tourism Registry was after that date. The General Directorate agrees with the registrar and consolidates a clear temporal criterion: April 3, 2025 is the dividing line between those who need that neighbor permission and those who do not.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution sets a temporal criterion with direct consequences for the tourist accommodation registration process in Valencia:

The affected process is the assignment of the unique short-term tourist rental registration number, which is the mandatory identifier for legally operating a tourist accommodation. If the property registrar detects that the registration in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community is after April 3, 2025 and the neighbor authorization is not provided, it can suspend that assignment.

The General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith has confirmed that this criterion is correct, which means that the practice of the Valencia no. 13 registrar is supported and can be replicated in other property registries.

Economic and operational impact

The impact is not just bureaucratic. For a property owner who has invested in preparing a property for tourist use, the inability to obtain the unique registration number means that they cannot legally advertise or rent that property on platforms like Airbnb or Booking.

The main economic and operational risks are:

• Income paralysis: Without the unique registration number, the property cannot operate as a short-term tourist rental, which means zero income from that source until the situation is resolved.
• Cost of managing the association: Calling and holding a homeowners meeting has administrative and time costs, and the outcome is not guaranteed.
• Risk of permanent blockage: In buildings where the majority of owners oppose tourist rentals, obtaining express authorization may be impossible, making the investment unviable for that use.
• Legal uncertainty: The resolution consolidates a criterion that can be extended to other property registries in Valencia and potentially in other autonomous communities.

Who does it affect?

• Property owners of tourist accommodations in Valencia who obtained the registration resolution in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community after April 3, 2025.
• Real estate investors who have acquired properties in Valencia with the intention of using them for short-term tourist rentals and have initiated the registration process after that date.
• Managers and vacation rental agencies that administer properties in Valencia and must process the unique registration number for their clients.
• Real estate and legal advisors who assist property owners in the registration process with the Valencian tourism registry.
• Homeowners associations in Valencia that receive requests for authorization for tourist use of any of their properties.

Practical example

A property owner in Valencia registers their property in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community in June 2025, that is, after April 3, 2025. They go to the Property Registry to obtain the unique short-term tourist rental registration number.

The property registrar, applying the criterion confirmed by the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith, suspends the assignment of the unique registration number because the tourism registration is after the cutoff date and the property owner has not provided express authorization from the homeowners association.

The property owner must now call a homeowners meeting, submit the authorization request, and wait for the agreement. If the building has neighbors opposed to tourist rentals and the necessary majority is not reached, the property owner will not be able to operate the property as a short-term tourist rental, regardless of already being registered in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community.

If, instead, that same property owner had registered the property before April 3, 2025, they would not need that neighbor permission and could have obtained the unique registration number without that additional procedure.

What should property owners do now?

1. Verify your registration date in the Tourism Registry of the Valencian Community. If it is after April 3, 2025, you are in the situation that requires neighbor authorization.
2. Check if you already have the unique registration number assigned. If the process is pending or suspended, the reason may be precisely the lack of homeowners association authorization.
3. Review your homeowners association bylaws to see if there is already any clause about tourist rentals and what the majority position of neighbors is.
4. Call or request the calling of a homeowners meeting to obtain express authorization. Prepare the documentation that justifies your request and the terms of the intended tourist use.
5. Evaluate the viability of the project before continuing to invest. If the homeowners association is predominantly opposed, authorization may not be obtained and the property cannot be used for short-term tourist rentals.
6. Consult a lawyer specializing in real estate law in Valencia to assess the options available in your specific case, especially if you have already initiated