Regulations / País Vasco
Short-term rental rules in País Vasco
VUT-style tourist-use housing, and rooms in private homes rented for tourist use, as two distinct categories
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Latest reform
Decreto 52/2025, de 25 de febrero, de modificación del Decreto de viviendas y habitaciones de viviendas particulares para uso turístico
BOPV n.º 53, de 18-03-2025 (entrada en vigor: 19-03-2025)
Source: euskadi.eus — eli/es-pv/d/2025/02/25/52/dof/spa/html — verified 2026-07-16
Registration
Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas de Euskadi
A declaración responsable (sworn compliance statement) filed with the Tourism and Hospitality Directorate (Basque Government's Department of Tourism, Trade and Consumer Affairs), which triggers registration. The authority may verify the statement's contents and supporting documents at any time.
Source: euskadi.eus/registro/registro-de-empresas-y-actividades-turisticas-de-euskadi — verified 2026-07-16
Additional municipal requirement
Donostia / San Sebastián
A municipal tourist-housing ordinance (2018) divides the city into three zones (A, B, C): new VUT are banned in the most saturated zone (A), with floor/independent-access restrictions elsewhere. Since 19 April 2023 a moratorium (since extended) has suspended new licenses. In February 2026 the city council gave final approval to a General Plan (PGOU) amendment that shields residential use from tourist use. A municipal activity license (CPA) is also required on top of the regional declaración responsable.
Source: donostia.eus / mkrsoluciones.com — verified 2026-07-16
Requirements
For the room-rental modality, the home must have — besides a kitchen and bathroom — at least one bedroom exclusively set aside for tourist lodging, separate from any bedrooms used by people actually residing there
In force since 2018-07-03
Source: Decreto 101/2018 — verified 2026-07-16
Fines
We haven't yet confirmed the exact fine amounts for País Vasco against an official source — Re-confirmed on 2026-07-16 with a second independent search: the €10,001–100,000 figure for the serious infraction of failing to meet the effective-residence/registration requirement (referred to Title VII of Ley 13/2016) shows up consistently, but it couldn't be confirmed against the primary BOPV statutory text, and the minor-infraction bracket and the rest of the general serious/very-serious bracket of Ley 13/2016 couldn't be determined (only this specific infraction).. Check your region's tourism portal for the current detail.
Active regulatory alerts
Donostia/San Sebastián: a VUT licensing moratorium has been in force since 2023 (since extended), and a final PGOU amendment was approved in February 2026 strengthening protection of residential use over tourist use. At the regional level, Decreto 52/2025 requires previously-excluded rural tourist homes to regularize under Decreto 101/2018 (6-month adaptation window from 19-03-2025).
Source: donostia.eus / euskadi.eus — verified 2026-07-16
Guest registration
System: Ertzaintza (sistema propio autonómico; NO se usa SES.Hospedajes estatal), reported within 24h of arrival.
Base regulations
- Decreto 101/2018, de 3 de julio, de viviendas y habitaciones de viviendas particulares para uso turístico
Source: BOPV / euskadi.eus — verified 2026-07-16
- Ley 13/2016, de 28 de julio, de Turismo
Source: euskadi.eus / BOPV — verified 2026-07-16
Verification notes
Verified on 2026-07-16. Confirmed: the figure and base regulation (Decreto 101/2018, Ley 13/2016), the latest reform (Decreto 52/2025, BOPV 18-03-2025), the registration procedure (declaración responsable via euskadi.eus), and an important point: the Basque Country does not use SES.Hospedajes, but its own system run by the Ertzaintza (Orden of 25-11-2022, BOPV No. 235), with a 24h deadline. Donostia/San Sebastián's municipal layer (zoning, moratorium, 2026 PGOU) was confirmed via donostia.eus and specialist sources. Not confirmed with certainty: exact fine brackets (a €10,001–100,000 figure was found but not checked against the official BOPV text), minimum surface requirement (no concrete figure found), registry expiry.
Informative content, not legal advice. Always check with your autonomous community or a professional.