Verified

Short-term rental rules in Illes Balears

ETV (estancias turísticas en viviendas — "tourist stays in homes"). Spain's only system of purchased tourist-bed quotas: the license works as a transferable asset, not just a registration.

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Latest reform

Medidas del 16-04-2025 (prohibición de nuevas plazas en plurifamiliares)

BOIB

Source: BOIB — verified 2026-07-05

Registration

Registro Insular de ETV (gestionado por cada Consell insular)

A blocking 4-stage sequence: (1) a municipal certificate confirming the zone is eligible, per the island's PIAT/PTI zoning plan (different for each island); (2) purchasing tourist-bed quotas through the CBAT (Consorci Borsa d'Places Turístiques — the tourist-bed exchange): single-family home €3,500/bed, multi-family building €875/bed, ETV/60 €291.67/bed; (3) filing a DRIAT (a sworn tourist-activity statement) with the Consell insular (island council); (4) registration in the Registro Insular (island register) and assignment of a number.

Source: caib.es — verified 2026-07-05

Requirements

A cédula de habitabilidad (habitability certificate) is mandatory; it sets the maximum number of guests
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
The property must be at least 5 years old and previously in residential use
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Cannot be publicly protected housing (VPO — vivienda de protección oficial)
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Cannot be on protected rural land
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Cannot have an open planning-enforcement file
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Individual utility meters are required
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Civil liability insurance, extended to cover damage to the homeowners' association
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Mandatory tourist services: cleaning, linen changes, a 24/7 contact phone line
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
A vote by the homeowners' meeting is required in multi-family buildings
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
Maximum 3 properties per owner
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05
ETV/60 category: the owner must be registered (empadronado) as living at the property and limit rentals to 2 months a year (in many municipalities, only one of those months can be July or August)
Source: Decreto 20/2015 — verified 2026-07-05

Registration expiry

Licenses in multi-family buildings are renewed every 5 years.

Fines

Fines for operating without a license start at €5,000

Ley 8/2012 / Decreto 20/2015

Source: caib.es — verified 2026-07-05

Active regulatory alerts

Acquiring new tourist-bed quotas is de facto frozen. Since 16 April 2025, new quotas in multi-family buildings are banned across the whole archipelago. Trading quotas between private owners has reopened, but with no net growth allowed. There's a temporary quota-pool call in Mallorca (CBAT, March 2026) — worth checking whether it's still open.
Source: cbat.conselldemallorca.es — verified 2026-07-05

Guest registration

System: SES.Hospedajes, reported within 24h of arrival.

Base regulations

Ley 8/2012, modificada por la Ley 6/2017
Source: BOIB — verified 2026-07-05
Decreto 20/2015
Source: BOIB — verified 2026-07-05
Decreto-ley 3/2022
Source: BOIB — verified 2026-07-05

An existing license functions as a market asset (estimated at €20,000–120,000 depending on the bed quota). Ecotasa (ITS, the tourist eco-tax): the host collects it, at higher rates in July–August. Verified by Fable on 2026-07-05. Sources: caib.es, cbat.conselldemallorca.es, BOE-A-2017-10539, BOIB (DL 3/2022). To be re-verified under the monthly protocol (next: 2026-08-01).

Informative content, not legal advice. Always check with your autonomous community or a professional.