Legal requirements for holiday rentals in the Valencian Community

September 2023

The Valencian Community is made up of three provinces: Alicante, Valencia and Castellón, and if you have a property to rent you must meet a series of legal requirements. These are included in the Autonomous and National Legislation in Spain, and if you are interested in listing your property for tourism purposes this information interestig to you.

In 1997, Law 15/1997, June 25, 1997, on Tourism Management of the Valencian Community was approved, establishing the bases for the regulation of rentals in the tourism sector. Among its aspects, it is important to comply with the following requirements:

1. Applicable to all offers of tourist accommodations and holiday rentals.
2. It classifies tourist establishments with a series of criteria based on the characteristics and services offered.
3. Duties of the owners such as maintaining conditions of habitability, providing the advertised services in compliance with safety standards and providing the required information to tourists.
4. The law establishes an inspection regime to ensure compliance with tourism regulations. In addition, it defines the corresponding sanctions in case of non-compliance with the established obligations.

In Decree 92/2009, of July 3, 2009, the Consell regulated stays in tourist apartments, tourist dwellings and rural tourism accommodations. It also includes the obligation to comply with the minimum conditions of habitability, the obligations of the owners, the services offered to tourists and the penalties for non-compliance.

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REEPT: What is it and why do you need it?

The Registry of Tourism Companies, Establishments and Professions (REEPT) in the Valencian Community is managed by the Valencian Tourism Agency, and is mandatory for those owners who wish to rent their properties for tourism purposes. A series of requirements must be met in order to obtain this license:

• Prerequisites: these must comply with the conditions of habitability, minimum services, among others. 
• Documents: these may vary according to the province, but generally include: Owner’s identification or passport, the property title, the occupancy license, and the responsible statement of compliance with applicable legal requirements and regulations. In some cases other specific documents are requested according to the location of the rental.
• Application: the application for registration is submitted to the Agència Valenciana del Turisme or other competent entity. In some cases an administrative fee must be paid.
• Inspection and evaluation: once the application has been submitted, an inspection of the accommodation may be carried out to verify that it complies with the established requirements. An evaluation of the documentation submitted will also be made.
• Registration: if all requirements are met, the lodging will be registered in the REEPT.
• Issuance of the license: a license with a registration number is issued to the owner and is mandatory to legally operate the tourist accommodation.
• Prerequisites: these must comply with the conditions of habitability, minimum services, among others. 
• Documents: these may vary according to the province, but generally include: Owner’s identification or passport, the property title, the occupancy license, and the responsible statement of compliance with applicable legal requirements and regulations. In some cases other specific documents are requested according to the location of the rental.
• Application: the application for registration is submitted to the Agència Valenciana del Turisme or other competent entity. In some cases an administrative fee must be paid.
• Inspection and evaluation: once the application has been submitted, an inspection of the accommodation may be carried out to verify that it complies with the established requirements. An evaluation of the documentation submitted will also be made.
• Registration: if all requirements are met, the lodging will be registered in the REEPT.
• Issuance of the license: a license with a registration number is issued to the owner and is mandatory to legally operate the tourist accommodation.

By obtaining registration in the REEPT, the municipality or competent body will be able to control and regulate the tourist offer in the region.

Legal requirements for Tourist Housing (VT)

Tourist Housing (VT) are the constructions known as:

• Villas
• Apartments
• Bungalows
• Chalets
• Rural houses

Rural areas

There are legal regulations that must be complied with. Decree 184/2014, of October 31, establishes the following for rural rentals:

1. Scope of application: The municipal area must be bordering the sea or linked to a metropolitan area.
2. Modalities and categories: They can be lodgings of rural house or farm for camping with an inhabited stay. These are classified from 1 to 5 stars, divided into standard and superior categories.

In rural houses, the entire house must be rented and must have its own exit to the public road, in addition, these must have a maximum of 16 beds. On the other hand, on a farm with inhabited housing, guests can rest in tents or caravans on land within the property. Another option available on rural lands are tourist lodges, which accommodate travelers in collective rooms and must have a maximum of 17 beds.

If you have a rural house, some of the denominations for constructions with more than 50 years old according to the law are Masía, Alquería or Riurau. The denomination for village houses are those that are located in the urban area and that conserve the traditional style of the area. All establishments must display at the main entrance the plaque with the category granted.

In many of these areas rural hostels and apartments are common. The requirements they must meet according to Decree 153/1993, of August 17 are:

• Comply with a maximum capacity of 50 beds in hostels and 16 beds in apartments.
• If the building is traditional, historic or ethnographic, it must have a distinctive sign on its façade.
• The municipality where it is located must have less than 5,000 inhabitants.
• That they comply with the equipment according to the area: water, heating, kitchen, electricity, among others.

In cities as well as in rural areas, it is necessary to have a document to start activities by means of a responsible declaration, in order to have the documents in order and avoid sanctions.

What is the responsible statement for the start of an activity?

Any person wishing to develop an activity related to the rental of tourist stays must submit a responsible statement in which he/she declares compliance with the current requirements requested by the headquarters of Turisme de la Comunitat Valenciana.

A series of steps must be followed in order to file the responsible declaration:

1. Access the portal of the Generalitat.
2. Select the holiday rental service.
3. The Consell will keep updated all the documents to be collected.
4. Fulfilling the requested requirements, the responsible declaration of tourism is accredited.

As for the requirements according to their denomination, they must have as documents:

• Hotel establishments: Data on equipment and services, number of rooms and classification documents.
• Tourist apartments: They must specify the number of rooms and services.
• Tourist housing management companies: To declare a list of dwellings with a report on their urban planning compatibility. 
• Campgrounds and motorhomes: Have the list of parking spaces, documents of available plots and facilities.

If your property is managed by a tourist rental manager, that person must comply with a series of requirements in order to qualify for the responsible declaration of commencement of activity. Among the documentation, the following stand out:

1. Availability of properties destined for tourist use with documentation of the property deed and its authorization for management.
2. Comply with the requirements of category and guest capacity.
3. To have the urban development compatibility report.
4. License of occupancy of the dwelling.
5. You must have liability insurance to cover damages in the booking process.

Decree 10/2021, January 22: What regulations should be considered?

Registration in the Tourism Registry of the Comunitat Valenciana

When having the responsible declaration it is necessary to classify the establishment in the Register according to its category, for this purpose:

1. To present the responsible declaration of the start of activity. It must start within a period of two months, otherwise the inspection body will cancel the registration.
2. Declare ownership documents.
3. Comply with the specific requirements demanded.
4. If the property does not comply with the formalities in Law 39/2015 penalties may apply.
5. The inaccuracy of the information determines the cessation of the rendering of services in holiday rentals.

If an inaccuracy in the documents were to be considered, it would be for the following reasons:

• Risk to the safety of property, owners and guests.
• Lack of documentation regarding fire prevention and protection.
• Cancellation of the responsible declaration.
• Non-compliances in licensing documents or urban development reports.

Liability insurance

All persons engaged in tourist lodging activities must take out a civil liability insurance policy to cover possible damages. It is mandatory due to problems that may arise to take care of the physical integrity of the guests during their stay, as a consequence of unforeseen failures of the property. This is determined by the accommodation places, being the one of 25 places for 150 thousand euros and the one of 5 thousand places for almost 2 million euros. This document must be kept up to date and in the possession of the owner. 

General technical requirements

All holiday rentals in the Valencian Community must comply with technical requirements:

• Water for human consumption.
• Power supply.
• First aid kit.
• Heating according to the municipality where it is located.
• Fire protection equipment.
• Landline phone with ambulance, pharmacy, police or fire department directory.
• Solid waste and wastewater disposal systems.

Decree Law 15/2018 of June 7: What regulations should be considered?

• Sustainability commitment: every landlord must comply with the sustainability development where their rental is located.
• Hospitality: promote the inclusion of the basic principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
• Commitment to safety and guarantee: to take into account accident prevention and health protection.
• Quality of services: maintain each of the property’s spaces in optimal conditions.
• Rights of tourists and neighbors: to ensure the enjoyment of guests and the tranquility of neighbors by providing standards for each visitor.

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