On 21 May 2026, Spain’s Supreme Court handed down judgment STS 620/2026 and annulled the Unique Register of Short-Term Rentals, known as the NRUA. With it falls the obligation to obtain the numerical code that had to appear in your Airbnb and Booking listings. This is major news for holiday rental owners and property managers across Spain.
This article gives you a clear explanation of exactly what the Supreme Court has annulled, what remains mandatory (plenty, be aware), what is no longer required, and what steps you need to take now.
What the NRUA was and where it came from
The NRUA (Número de Registro Único de Arrendamientos) was created by Royal Decree 1312/2024 of 23 December, which established the Single Digital Window for Rentals. Its stated aim was to create a state register of all short-term rental properties to ease coordination between administrations and oversight of digital platforms.
The obligation meant that any owner wishing to list a property on platforms such as Airbnb or Booking had to:
- Apply for the NRUA code through the College of Property Registrars.
- Include it in all online listings.
- File an annual information report with rental data.
The decree was controversial from the start. The Council of State had already flagged potential competence issues in its report (CE-D-2024-1926, 18 December 2024). It was the Valencian Government that ultimately challenged it before the Supreme Court.
What the STS 620/2026 ruling actually says
The Third Chamber (Administrative Litigation) of the Supreme Court upheld the Valencian Government’s appeal and annulled the provisions of RD 1312/2024 relating to:
- The creation of the national Unique Register of Rentals.
- The obligation to obtain the NRUA code in order to list properties on platforms.
- The Single Digital Window as a state registration mechanism.
- The annual information declaration linked to the NRUA.
Legal basis: the Supreme Court found that tourism is an exclusive competence of Spain’s autonomous communities. The State may regulate specific aspects of the internal market or digital services, but it cannot impose a comprehensive national register that overlaps with and duplicates the regional registers that already exist. In the court’s own terms, the decree encroached on regional competences in tourism matters.
What is NO LONGER mandatory from 21 May 2026
From the date of the ruling, the following requirements are no longer enforceable:
- Obtaining the NRUA code from the College of Property Registrars.
- Including the NRUA in your listings on Airbnb, Booking or other platforms (the requirement falls together with its legal basis).
- Filing the annual information report on rentals linked to the NRUA (Order VAU/1560/2025), since its foundation was the now-annulled register.
- Registering via the State Single Digital Window to obtain the number.
If you already had an NRUA and were displaying it in your listings, there is no harm in continuing to show it, but it is no longer a state legal obligation.
What REMAINS mandatory (this does not change)
The annulment of the NRUA does not mean the deregulation of holiday rentals. The following remain fully in force:
Regional tourist licences
Each autonomous community maintains its own registration and licensing system:
| Region | Licence type |
|---|---|
| Andalusia | VFT (Vivienda con Fines Turísticos) |
| Catalonia | HUT (Habitatge d’Ús Turístic) |
| Balearic Islands | ETV (Estança Turística en Vivenda) |
| Galicia | VUT (Vivenda de Uso Turístico) |
| Asturias | VUT (Vivienda de Uso Turístico) |
| Madrid | VUT (Vivienda de Uso Turístico) |
| Canary Islands | VV (Vivienda Vacacional) |
| Valencia | VT (Vivienda Turística) |
To obtain or renew your licence, contact the tourism register of your autonomous community.
These regional licences were not affected by the ruling and remain an essential requirement for legal operation. If you are unsure how to obtain or renew yours, see our guide to the tourist licence in Spain.
Traveller registration and reporting to SES.Hospedajes
Royal Decree 933/2021 obliges hosts to record guest data and report it via SES.Hospedajes (Ministry of the Interior) with a traveller registration app. This obligation is entirely independent of the NRUA and remains in force without any changes.
Tax obligations and reporting to the Tax Authority
Platforms remain obliged to report hosts’ income to the Spanish Tax Agency. Your tax obligations (personal income tax, VAT where applicable) do not change.
What happens with platforms: Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo
Digital platforms will need to update their systems to reflect the new legal landscape. In practice:
- Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo were requiring the NRUA to publish listings in Spain: that requirement loses its state legal basis, although each platform may still ask for the regional registration number (which does remain mandatory).
- Platforms will continue to report hosts’ activity to the Tax Agency, regardless of the NRUA.
- While platforms update their forms, check with each one what registration number your listings must display (your regional number is still valid and necessary).
What you should do now
- If you had not yet obtained a NRUA: you no longer need to apply for one. Make sure your regional tourist licence is in order.
- If you already had a NRUA: you may keep displaying it, but you are not obliged to. Check whether your platform asks for a registration number and use your regional one.
- If you had started the annual information report process: it has no legal basis; you are not required to file it. Check official channels for any subsequent guidance.
- Keep your regional tourist licence up to date: this obligation remains and is enforced by the regional governments with their own penalties.
- Do not neglect traveller registration: the SES.Hospedajes report is still mandatory for every stay.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to return or cancel the NRUA I already obtained? No. If you have one, there is no problem keeping it. It simply ceases to be a state legal obligation. Platforms may accept it as a valid registration number while they update their systems.
Does the annual information report I was supposed to file in 2026 still need to be submitted? In principle, no, because the obligation derived directly from the now-annulled NRUA. However, check official channels (Ministry of Housing, BOE) in case a subsequent resolution clarifies this point.
Can I list my property without a registration number? It depends on your autonomous community. If you have a regional licence (VFT, HUT, ETV, VUT, etc.), that number is still the one you must display. What falls away is the additional state number (NRUA).
What if my autonomous community does not have its own register? Some regions are less developed in this area. Check with your regional tourism office for the current position. The ruling actually reinforces the role of regional registers over the state one.
Does this affect traveller registration and SES.Hospedajes? No. Traveller registration is based on RD 933/2021 (Ministry of the Interior), a completely different legal framework from the annulled RD 1312/2024. It remains mandatory without exception.