Farewell to the Single Short-Term Rental Register: The Courts Side with the Autonomous Regions

Article updated on 17 October 2026. We have added the reference of the ruling, STS 620/2026, handed down in May 2026 and published in the BOE on 18 July 2026. We have also updated the Canary Islands deadlines following Law 7/2026.

The courts set limits on the State over tourist rentals

The Supreme Court has annulled the core of the Single Rental Register (Registro Único de Arrendamientos), which the Ministry of Housing created with Royal Decree 1312/2024. According to the Supreme Court, the State has no competence to create a national register overlapping the regional tourist-rental registers.

The underlying message is clear: regulating tourist rentals is for each autonomous region. The appeals of several regions have succeeded.

Many holiday rental owners welcomed the news with relief. But what does it really mean for someone with a holiday rental home in Fuerteventura or Lanzarote? The answer is nuanced: your obligations in the Canary Islands do not change.

What was the Single Rental Register?

Royal Decree 1312/2024 required owners of short-term rentals, including holiday rental homes, to obtain a national registration number before advertising their home on platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.

The measure aimed to control supply, fight illegal rentals and obtain market data. However, it was processed without taking into account that tourism and housing competences belong to the autonomous regions.

Several regions, including the Canary Islands, appealed against it, and the Supreme Court has sided with them.

What changes (and what does not) for owners in the Canary Islands

What changes: the national register disappears

Owners are no longer required to obtain the national Single Register number.
Platforms cannot demand it to publish listings.
The Digital Single Window (Ventanilla Única Digital), the channel for exchanging data with platforms, remains.

It is a real reduction in paperwork and a victory for the autonomous regions in defending their competences.

What does not change: Canary Islands rules remain intact

The ruling removes no regional or municipal requirement, and in the Canary Islands the rules are among the most demanding in Spain.

Law 6/2025 on the Sustainable Regulation of the Tourist Use of Homes, reformed by Law 7/2026, remains fully in force. Its obligations are still the same:

The declaración responsable with the Cabildo is still mandatory.
Registration on the Canary Islands General Tourism Register does not disappear. Its number must appear in all adverts.
The prior notification of classified activity with the town hall is still required. If you did not file it, you have until 31 July 2027.
The energy efficiency certificate is mandatory, with a minimum rating of F or D depending on the age of the building.
Canary Islands Police inspections continue.

And above all, the technical report signed by a competent professional remains the central document showing that your home meets the technical requirements of Canary Islands rules.

Why the technical report is still essential

The ruling removes a national procedure, but does not reduce the technical demands of Canary Islands rules at all. The technical report is the document that:

Describes the home with plans of the current state and photographs.
Justifies compliance with the rules on classified activities, safety and habitability.
Accompanies the prior notification that Law 7/2026 requires of homes that did not file it.
Protects the owner against inspections and possible sanctions.

Without it, the home operates on an incomplete authorisation. The consequences:

If you do not file the prior notification before 31 July 2027, the law requires you to stop the activity.
Continuing tourist use once the title has ended is a serious planning offence, with a fine of €15,000 to €150,000.
Infringements of tourism rules are punished with fines of up to €1,500 (minor), €1,501 to €30,000 (serious) and €30,001 to €300,000 (very serious).

In addition, the law sets deadlines for existing homes. The most important for an owner who is also the holder of the declaración responsable is to apply for consolidated tourist use before 13 December 2030. For the rest, the transitional regime ends on that same date.

A note to avoid confusion

It is worth being clear about which register has been annulled: the national Single Rental Register, created by Royal Decree 1312/2024. It must not be confused with the Canary Islands General Tourism Register, which remains fully in force.

European rules do not disappear either. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on short-term rental data applies from 20 May 2026 and will be channelled through the regional register.

Conclusion: less national bureaucracy, same Canary Islands obligations

The Supreme Court ruling is good news: it simplifies procedures and recognises regional competences. But for the owner of a holiday rental home in Fuerteventura or Lanzarote, day-to-day life does not change.

The technical and administrative obligations of Canary Islands rules, which the Canary Islands Police are enforcing, remain exactly the same.

If you have a holiday rental home in the Canary Islands and have not yet regularised your technical documentation, now is the time.

At FuerteProyecto we help you comply with Canary Islands rules

At FuerteProyecto we specialise in the technical documentation of holiday rental homes in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. We write your technical report, issue the energy certificate and guide you on the other documents you need to operate with legal certainty.

Fixed quote, no surprises. Project signed by a competent professional. Delivered within 15 days at most of receiving your documents.

Phone: +34 620 395 305
Email: info@fuerteproyecto.com