Tourist rental licence in Mallorca: buying and operating a licensed property with legal certainty

What the ETV licence is and what it permits

The marketing of tourist stays in dwellings is governed in the islands by Ley 8/2012, of 19 July, on tourism in the Balearic Islands, as amended by Ley 6/2017. The activity is not authorised by a municipal licence in the strict sense. It rests on a responsible declaration of commencement of tourist activity filed with the Consell de Mallorca, registration in the island register of tourism businesses, activities and establishments, and the acquisition of as many tourist places (plazas turísticas) as the dwelling can accommodate. This is what the market calls the ETV licence.

There are three forms. The detached or semi-detached single-family house, which accounts for most licences on the island. The dwelling within a building under horizontal ownership, which requires that neither the by-laws nor the owners' meeting prohibit the use and whose registration is time-limited and renewable. And the main-residence form, which allows a resident to market their own home for no more than sixty days a year.

Whatever the form, the dwelling may only be marketed within the eligible zones delimited by the Consell de Mallorca and the municipalities. In the municipality of Palma, the tourist marketing of dwellings in multi-family buildings is prohibited by resolution of the city council, upheld by the courts.

Why no new licences are being granted

Decreto ley 3/2022, of 11 February, suspended the acquisition of tourist places and their transfer between private parties, and that suspension was carried into Ley 3/2022, of 15 June, on urgent measures for the sustainability and circularity of tourism. Without places there can be no registration, so in practice the moratorium amounts to a ban on new licences.

Decreto ley 4/2025, of 11 April, has extended that policy and created temporary pools of places on each island, whose release is conditional on the island councils assessing the tourist carrying capacity of their territory. At the date of this page, that assessment has not led to any places being released for dwellings in Mallorca. Any offer to "arrange a new licence" should be tested against this legal framework before anything is paid for it.

The real route: buying a property that already holds one

The licence attaches to the dwelling, not to the owner. Whoever acquires a registered property may continue the activity by notifying the change of ownership to the Consell de Mallorca, provided the licence is in force, no enforcement proceedings are open and the places are in order. That continuity is what the market pays for as a premium, which is why the prior verification is not a formality but the core of the transaction.

Before any deposit is paid we check, with access to the administrative file, that the registration exists and is in the seller's name, that the number of places matches the actual capacity and the habitability certificate, that the registered form corresponds to the type of property, that no inspection file or cancellation decision exists, that the dwelling lies in an eligible zone under the current delimitation and, in horizontal ownership, that the registration has not expired and the community has not prohibited the use.

We carry the result into the contract. The validity of the licence is framed as an essential condition, with a price retention or a condition subsequent if the authority refuses the change of ownership, and the seller's liability for infringements predating the sale is documented, since those can otherwise reach the new owner.

The national registration number for platform listings

Since 1 July 2025, Real Decreto 1312/2024, of 23 December, requires every short-term let to obtain a registration number through the Digital Single Window for Rentals run by the Spanish Land Registrars, and platforms must remove listings that do not display it, in application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1028. That number does not replace the regional licence: it sits alongside it. A dwelling with an ETV but no registration number cannot lawfully be advertised, and one with a registration number but no ETV remains an unlicensed activity in the eyes of the Balearic authorities.

Penalties

Ley 8/2012 classifies the marketing of tourist stays without having filed the responsible declaration as a very serious infringement, punishable by fines of 40,001 to 400,000 euros. Advertising the dwelling without displaying the registration number, exceeding the authorised places or failing to comply with guest registration duties are serious infringements, with fines of 4,001 to 40,000 euros. The tourism inspectorate acts on its own initiative and on the basis of listings published on the platforms, which are obliged to remove unregistered offers.

Enforcement proceedings can be defended. In our experience, files frequently contain classification errors, questionable counts of places or defective notifications, and submissions made in time reduce the penalty or set it aside. Acting as soon as the first notice arrives is what makes the difference.

What the service covers

• Verification of the licence before purchase: search of the island register, check of places, form, eligible zone and open files, with a written report.
• Drafting or review of the deposit contract and the deed with the warranty clauses concerning the licence.
• Notification of the change of ownership to the Consell de Mallorca and updating of the registration.
• Obtaining the national registration number and bringing listings into line with the information duties.
• Renewal of the registration for dwellings in horizontal ownership and analysis of the community of owners' resolutions.
• Defence in enforcement proceedings and appeals before the authorities and the courts.

Frequently asked questions