Tourist flat crackdown has not boosted long-term rentals across Spain
A new study says withdrawn holiday lets have mostly moved into seasonal use, sales or stayed empty
Removing tourist apartments has not increased the supply of permanent rental homes across Spain, according to a new study from Idealista. The figures show that more than 84,000 homes, mostly tourist lets, failed to obtain the Single Registry in 2025, which is now compulsory for short-term rentals, yet the supply of permanent rental housing still fell by 25,836 homes over the same period.The study challenges the common idea that taking tourist accommodation out of the market automatically frees up more homes for residents. Idealista says this suggests many owners chose not to switch to long-term renting. Instead, they appear to have moved into the seasonal market, sold their properties or left them vacant. As the report puts it, “everything suggests that owners of tourist accommodations have decided to either transfer them to the seasonal rental market, sell them, or leave them vacant rather than offer them for permanent rental.”
In the Region of Murcia, more than 2,000 tourist properties lost their registration, but the number of long-term rentals still fell by 351, while seasonal rentals rose by almost 1,500 homes.
Only four autonomous communities saw an increase in the number of permanent rentals during 2025. The Valencian Community led the way with 1,131 more homes available, followed by Extremadura with 721, La Rioja with 77 and Ceuta with 58. But even in the Valencian Community, where 14,138 properties were withdrawn, the increase in long-term rentals only represents 8%.
Elsewhere, the trend was clearly negative. Catalonia lost 15,065 long-term rental homes despite 12,948 revoked licences. Andalucía lost 2,678 rentals after 21,294 licences were withdrawn. Castile and León lost 1,915 rentals, the Balearic Islands saw a fall of 1,742, and Madrid lost 1,651 despite 5,705 revoked licences.
Meanwhile, seasonal rentals continued to grow. Idealista says the stock of short-term rentals increased by 58,184 homes in 2025. Andalucía saw the biggest rise, with 13,832 new homes, followed by Madrid with 10,766, Catalonia with 10,531, the Valencian Community with 8,709, the Canary Islands with 2,334 and the Balearic Islands with 2,117. The only place to see a decline was Melilla, where the seasonal rental market lost one property.
Image: Pexels/Pixabay
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