Understanding Barcelona’s Short-Term Rental Regulations

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The city of Barcelona classifies short-term rentals and vacation rentals through sites like Airbnb and Booking.com as “tourist households”. Tourist households are homes that are offered for short-term rental of less or equal to 31 days, and must be in legal compliance according to the city council.

Summary of Barcelona’s Short-Term Rental Regulations

1. Submit a certificate of occupancy (aka Cèdula d’habitabilitat)
2. Register your property as a tourist household.
3. Pass inspection and approval.
4. Declare the operation of your tourist household.
5. Display your registration number on your short-term rental listing.
6. Register contact information, passport number, and duration of stay for all visitors who stay at the property.

Short-Term Rental Regulations in Barcelona

In order to operate a short-term rental in Barcelona (or elsewhere in Catalonia), a home’s owner must apply to have their property approved and categorised as a “tourist household”. This categorisation is necessary if you are offering rentals for less than 31 days. 

Before one can apply to have their home categorised as a tourist household, they must submit a certificate of occupancy (known as cèdula d’habitabilitat) through the Catalonian government’s website. Once submitted, one must then apply to have their property inspected, approved, and categorised as a tourist household. The application has a fee of €144.45 per property, with the second property’s application fee reduced by 50% to €72.23. Once the application has been submitted, an inspector visit will be organised to verify and approve your home.

Once a home has passed inspection, the owner is able to declare the operation of their tourist household. The application fee for this declaration varies by city, with the fee in Barcelona being €227.00. Once declared, the home owner will receive a registration number from the Registry of Tourism of Catalonia (RTC). This registration number must be displayed on all listings of the property. Home owners are given login access to an online platform to submit visitor and lodger information. 

Short-term rental operators must submit information about each booking’s lodgers, including their name, contact information, passport number, and the duration of their stay. Along with this, the homeowner must have an emergency contact number and the property’s registration number clearly visible and available at all times, and have official complaint sheets available for guests.

Taxes for Short-Term Rentals in Barcelona

Short-term rental operators in Barcelona are required to collect tourist taxes to remit to the city, and must pay taxes on their short-term rental income. Depending on the services you provide in your Airbnb, you may be required to register your short-term rental as a business venture and pay VAT on your short-term rental income on a quarterly basis. 

You can find more information regarding taxes for tourist households on this PDF brochure (in Catalonian) put out by Catalonia’s Tax Agency, along with this pages on the Catalonia Tax Agency’s about tax on stays in tourist establishments (in Catalonian). It is recommended that you seek the advice of a personal tax advisor or accountant who is familiar with the specific tax regulations in Spain, Catalonia, and Barcelona.

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the regulations discussed in this article. Regulations can change, and we advise you to research the current regulations for your location. While we do our best to keep the information updated, if you find an error, omission, or something that needs an update, please let us know.

Helpful Links Related to Short-Term Rentals in Barcelona

While this article contains information regarding short-term rentals in Barcelona, you might still have additional questions you want to research further. You can find more information about short-term rentals in Barcelona at the various websites listed below.

Airbnb – Cataluña/Barcelona: https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/862/cataluña-barcelona 

Airbnb – Catalonia’s Home Sharing Registration Process FAQ: https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2265/catalonias-home-sharing-registration-process-frequently-asked-questions 

Government of Catalonia – Tourist Household FAQs (Catalonian language): http://empresa.gencat.cat/ca/treb_departament/treb_preguntes_i_respostes/emo_turisme/emo_habitatges

City Hall of Barcelona – Housing for Tourist Use in Barcelona: https://seuelectronica.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/oficinavirtual/ca/tramit/20080000487

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