The Supreme Court annuls the state registry of tourist rentals

PalmaThe Supreme Court has annulled the single register of short-term leases regulated by Royal Decree 1312/2024, considering that the State does not have the powers to establish an exhaustive regulation of a state register that "overlaps with existing regional registers" regarding housing intended for tourist rental. The decision, which stems from the partial upholding of the appeal filed by the Valencian Generalitat, directly impacts a regulatory framework that also affects the Balearic Islands, where the regulation of tourist housing is part of regional competencies.

The Supreme Court annuls only the provisions that create this single register, but keeps other aspects of the royal decree in force, such as the digital single window, the obligations for online platforms to transmit data, and the exchange of information for statistical purposes. In this regard, the court does endorse the State's capacity to coordinate these data flows through its powers in economic planning and statistics.

According to the ruling, none of the analyzed competencies provide coverage for the state lease register. Specifically, the Supreme Court dismisses the possibility of it being based on civil legislation and public registry regulations, on basic equality conditions, and on economic planning bases, as it considers that the norm "exceeds" the concept of bases by configuring a complete registry system that encroaches on regional competencies.

The single register had entered into force on January 2, 2025, although its mandatory application had not become effective until July 1 of the same year, after a transitional period for the adaptation of companies and administrations.

In the ruling, the Supreme Court also acknowledges the context of growing concern about the impact of short-term rentals, both at the state and European levels. The court points out that this modality has increased steadily, leading to effects such as the reduction of the long-term rental stock, an increase in prices, and difficulties in accessing housing, especially in cities, with the consequent displacement of habitual residents.

This context motivated the approval of Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, which establishes harmonized rules on the collection and exchange of data from short-term rental services through online platforms.

The Balearic Government welcomes the ruling

The Balearic Government has celebrated that the Supreme Court has annulled the single register of short-term leases, considering that the State lacks the powers to establish this regulation.

"Chronicle of an announced cancellation that we had been denouncing for a long time. Wanting to centralize competencies that are autonomous only generates insecurity, bureaucracy, and failures. The Supreme Court puts things in their place," wrote the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Jaume Bauzá, on his X social network account.