Own a Rental Property in Spain? The Rules Have Changed - and Most Non-Resident Landlords Don't Know About It

Being a non-resident property owner in Spain has always come with its share of obligations. But 2025 and 2026 have brought a wave of important changes for those who rent out their Spanish homes - a new rental registration requirement, an additional annual declaration covering holiday rental activity, and a court ruling that could now allow you to reclaim overpaid tax going back four years. Here's a clear, straightforward guide to what's changed and what to do next.

If you rent out your Spanish property and live outside the European Union or European Economic Area (EEA), you've likely been paying tax on your gross rental income for years. That means no deductions for expenses like cleaning fees, community charges, council tax bills (IBI), maintenance costs, insurance, or any other legitimate cost of running a rental property. EU and EEA residents have long been allowed to deduct these expenses, but those residing outside of these areas haven’t - until now.

In July 2025, Spain's National Court ruled that non-EU and EEA residents had been treated unfairly. They found this distinction discriminatory, and the consequences are significant: if you've been filing rental income tax as a non-EU resident since 2022, you may now be entitled to reclaim what you overpaid. For many landlords, that adds up to a meaningful refund.

IberianTax now offers a dedicated Rental Expenses Reclaim service, managing the entire process with the Spanish Tax Office on your behalf. You don't need to navigate Spanish bureaucracy, gather obscure forms, or worry about getting it wrong. If you've been filing the Modelo 210 as a non-EU or non-EEA resident landlord since 2022, it's worth checking whether you have a valid claim.

Spain's regulation of the holiday rental market has tightened considerably. From July 2nd, 2025, all short-term rental listings advertised on platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and similar sites must display a valid Rental Registration Number (NRA). Without one, platforms are legally required to remove your listing. Beyond this, the sanctioning framework contemplates fines ranging from €3,000 to €600,000, depending on the severity of the violation.

This applies to both residents and non-residents alike. Whether you rent your Costa del Sol apartment for two weeks a year or run a full holiday let business, the NRA is now a legal requirement regardless of the scale of your rental activity.

For non-resident owners, the tax implications are also significant. Non-compliance can complicate the filing of Form 210 (Modelo 210), the mandatory annual declaration for all non-residents earning income in Spain. Additionally, renting without registration can create further issues with the Spanish Tax Agency and make it difficult to legally justify the income obtained.

If you haven't already obtained yours, the time to act is now. Applications require specific documentation and must be submitted correctly to avoid delays or refusals. IberianTax can handle the NRA application process for you from start to finish, so you can feel confident your listing stays live and your rental activity remains fully compliant.

Many owners who secured their NRA believe that’s the end of their obligations. In January 2026, the Spanish Ministry of Housing introduced a further requirement that caught many landlords off guard: an annual informative declaration of all rental activity carried out during the previous calendar year.

This is a separate and additional obligation - on top of the NRA itself. Every landlord in Spain must hold a valid NRA, and must also file this declaration each year, detailing the number of guests, the dates of each stay, and the reason for the visit (tourism, business, medical, etc.). Crucially, even owners who hold an NRA but did not rent their property at all are still required to file - simply confirming that no activity took place.

The stakes are real. Submitting the declaration incorrectly - or not at all - can result in the revocation of your NRA, which means your online listings would be automatically removed and you would be legally prohibited from advertising your property for rent. A number of owners who attempted to file the declaration themselves have already lost their registrations due to avoidable errors.

The process itself adds to the challenge. The declaration must be completed using a specific desktop application called N2 and submitted via the Land Registry platform using a digital certificate - neither of which are straightforward to navigate from abroad and in a foreign language.

If you would rather not deal with any of it, IberianTax can handle the entire process on your behalf - accurately, on time, and every year without fail.

Spanish tax and property law moves quickly, and for non-resident owners managing everything from abroad, keeping up is a real challenge. IberianTax exists to take that burden off your hands. From annual Modelo 210 filings and rental income tax returns to NRA applications, rental expense reclaims and annual rental declarations, we handle every aspect of non-resident property tax compliance - accurately, on time, and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional lawyer or gestoría.

Visit iberiantax.com to explore the full range of services, use the free tax calculators and stay up-to-date via the blog, so you can manage your Spanish property from abroad with confidence, clarity and ease.