Aid and grants to modernise your holiday rental in Spain 2024
How to Access Renovation Grants for Your Spanish Holiday Rental in 2024
November 2024
Did you know you might be able to get money to help with renovating holiday rentals in Spain? If you want to turn an old, energy-inefficient property into something new and modern, there may just be some government funds to help you. Before you take on a project of modernising tourist flats or rural houses, discover what kind of help you’re entitled to.
What are the grants to modernise homes in Spain?
More than 40% of Spanish real estate stock is 40 years old or more. That’s bad news in a country that wants to become eco-friendly, as older buildings are usually very energy-inefficient. As a result, the NextGenerationEU project has dedicated a budget of more than €6.8 billion for reforms and renovations to make properties more energy-efficient.
In addition to this, there are grants for rural houses and other properties in Spain. As the Spanish government is very devolved, these grants are typically available on a regional level. Each of Spain’s 17 regions (known as autonomous communities or comunidades autónomas) has the power to set its own system of grants for renovating properties. Not every region has grants available, but many of them do.
Renovating tourist flats for energy efficiency in Spain
To qualify for the NextGenerationEU grants, your renovations must meet certain criteria. Effectively, you will need to complete one of these goals:
- Your renovations reduce the property’s annual energy use by at least 7%
- Your property’s consumption of non-renewable energy will be reduced by at least 30%
- The thermal covering of your property’s façade will be improved
When renovating holiday rentals in Spain, make sure that your planned reforms will meet one of these conditions. If you do that, you may be eligible for a grant.
These home and holiday rental grants in Spain don’t cover other kinds of renovations. For example, if you want to change your property’s layout or improve it aesthetically, you won’t be able to claim any money for that. However, you may be able to get money if you’re carrying out the following process:
- Changing the boiler to an energy-efficient model
- Replacing the windows to seal in heat or cold more effectively
- Insulating walls and roofs
- Installing solar panels on the property
How to apply for renovation grants for tourist flats in Spain
These grants are approved at the regional level. This means you’ll need to apply to the government of your autonomous community for help — you’ll find a suitable link on their website.
These grants for tourist flats are also good for residential homes. In both cases, the aid will be between 40% to 80% of the renovation budget. There is a cap of €18,000 for very large projects, while the smallest projects may be capped at €6,300.
Claiming grants for renovating rural houses in Spain
As well as these energy-efficient grants, many autonomous communities offer grants to people who buy and renovate houses in the countryside. These properties are often available for minimal costs —just a few thousand euros in many cases— but they need quite significant work to make them habitable.
Again, these grants are handled on the regional level. There are three kinds of grants available:
- Rural housing rehabilitation grants. These are designed to transform derelict properties into houses in which people can live.
- Rural housing conservation, safety, and access grants. These grants cover projects like the removal of dangerous asbestos from old housing or the installation of accessible ramps.
- Energy efficiency grants for rural houses. These cover similar projects to the NextGenerationEU grants already described.
To claim these grants, you will usually have to meet a number of conditions, which may include:
- The buyer of the property must be aged 35 or under.
- The property must be in a village with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.
- The buyer must live in the property as their main, permanent residence for at least 5 years.
- The buyer’s annual income must be under €24,318.
Disadvantages of Spain’s rural housing grants for holiday rental landlords
Before you start applying for renovation grants, there are a few things you must consider. Sadly, they’re not always straightforward — and here are the disadvantages you’ll have to deal with:
- Most rural housing grants are only available in very remote areas, in villages with tiny populations. If you plan to rent out a house for holidays, you may struggle to attract guests.
- You’ll need to meet the eligibility criteria. This usually includes being a legal resident of Spain, which adds a layer of difficulty post-Brexit for British landlords.
- These are not holiday rental or Airbnb grants in Spain. Instead, they are designed to encourage people to return to the unfashionable, empty countryside. Most autonomous communities have conditions like you must live in one of these rural houses as your main address for a certain number of years post-renovation.
If you decide to renovate a rural house and immediately advertise it as a holiday home, you may find you have to pay back your grant. Holiday rental landlords can still play the long game — but that would mean living in the rural property for a given period before you can put it up on a holiday rental portal and rent it as a holiday flat. Some landlords may consider this a worthwhile undertaking, but many will not.
What renovation grants can I claim for my holiday rental property?
Unless you’re planning an extremely long-term project that will involve moving to a remote village for a period of time, it’s better to focus on the NextGenerationEU grants. These are valid for short-term rental properties.
Before you renovate, you might wonder if these grants are worth it — because you’ll still need to spend money as you renovate your property. Remember, the grants can be used to make your property more energy-efficient. This can actually have a beneficial impact on your bottom line. Firstly, it will lower running costs over time and raise the property’s value when it comes time to sell. You might also find that you can attract more green-conscious guests when you advertise your property’s green credentials on your holiday rental website.
The application process for these grants will depend on where in the country your property is located. Your first step should be to check your autonomous community’s website for advice. If you can’t find information easily or have any questions, try visiting the local town hall and speaking to a civil servant. Even if they don’t know the answer themselves, they should be able to point you in the right direction.