If you rent out a property by days, weeks, or months for holiday purposes, you probably think you have everything under control: license, Unique Registration Number (URN), platform, tax returns…
But be careful, you may be breaking a key obligation without knowing it. And the worst thing is not the penalty. The worst thing is that you can automatically lose your URN and be left out of the digital rental market.
The annual deposit for short-term rentals: the great unknown
Royal Decree 1312/2024, of December 23, has introduced an obligation that has gone surprisingly unnoticed: the annual deposit of the information form for short-term rentals.
We are not talking about an optional procedure or an administrative recommendation. We are talking about an annual legal obligation, directly linked to the validity of the URN.
Who does this obligation actually affect?
If you applied for the URN on a property in 2025 and it was granted, you must submit the corresponding deposit in February 2026.
It does not matter if:
- you have rented it out very little,
- you have had only one guest,
- or even if you have had no activity.
If there was a URN, there must be a deposit.
What exactly is this “deposit”?
It is not a matter of depositing money, but rather of depositing information in the Property Registry.
The deposit involves submitting an information form that includes, for each property:
- The corresponding URN
- The purpose of the rental (tourism, work, studies, medical, etc.)
- The number of guests
- The check-in and check-out dates for each guest during the fiscal year.
All of this is included in an anonymized list, but it is detailed enough to allow for monitoring of the activity.
The deadline: February (and only February)
The rule is clear and does not allow for creative interpretations:
- The obligation is annual
- It must be fulfilled every February
- With information from the previous year
What happens if I don’t submit the deposit?
Here comes the part that many prefer not to read.
Article 10.5 of Royal Decree 1312/2024 establishes that non-compliance:
- results in the removal of the URN
- prevents the property from being marketed on online platforms
You must bear in mind that without a URN, there is no Airbnb, Booking, or other digital intermediaries.
The legislation is clear: having a URN involves taking on periodic control of the activity, even when it has already ceased.
How is it filed?
The filing can be done:
- Ideally electronically,
- or in person, using a form generated from the official N2 application of the Property Registry.
Conclusion: ignoring it is not an option
This measure is unpopular, unintuitive, and has not been sufficiently explained. But it is in force, it is mandatory, and it has devastating effects if it is not complied with.
When it comes to short-term rentals, it is no longer enough to obtain the URN, you have to keep it alive. And that, today, means complying with this annual deposit.
