Do you need the owners' association's permission to open a holiday let? In Catalonia too?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

In Catalonia, no. Catalan law does not require the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) to authorise it beforehand, although the by-laws can ban holiday lets or impose conditions on them. If they do, they must be complied with. In the rest of Spain, by contrast, since 3 April 2025 the express prior approval of the owners' general meeting has been required, by three-fifths of the owners representing three-fifths of the participation shares. In Catalonia, however, you do need the tourist authorisation and, in many municipalities, planning permission. Catalonia and the rest of Spain In the rest of Spain, the Horizontal Property Act (“Ley de Propiedad Horizontal”) applies. Since 3 April 2025, an owner who wants to open a holiday let must first obtain the express approval of the owners' association. Anyone who already had one up and running before that date in accordance with the tourism regulations can carry on. In Catalonia that Act does not apply, because condominium (“propiedad horizontal”) is governed by the “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, which does not require that prior permission. What it allows is the opposite, for the owners' association to ban holiday lets by changing the by-laws, with four-fifths of the owners and of the shares. Applying news about the national law in Catalonia is a common mistake. Here you do not have to ask the owners' association for permission, but banning holiday lets requires four-fifths and not three-fifths. What the by-laws say In Catalonia, what matters is what your building's by-laws say: If they say nothing, you do not need the owners' association's permission. If they ban holiday lets, you cannot open one. The association can demand that it cease without having to prove that it causes a nuisance. If they make them subject to a condition, such as the meeting's authorisation, you must meet it. Before buying or opening, ask for a land registry extract (“nota simple”) from the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry, which shows whether the registered by-laws prohibit it. Also ask the seller or the managing agent for the latest minutes, in case the meeting has approved a ban that has not yet been registered. Even if there is no ban, if the flat causes a nuisance, the association can take action against it as it would against any nuisance activity. What you do need The tourist authorisation. It is obtained by filing a prior notification with the town council and the flat is then entered in the Catalan Tourism Register (“Registre de Turisme de Catalunya”). Planning permission in the municipalities to which Catalan Decree-Law 3/2023 applies, including Barcelona. In Barcelona, the City Council announced in June 2024 that it will not approve the planning rules that would allow those licences to be granted, so new holiday lets cannot be opened at present. How the ban is approved in the by-laws and when Barcelona's licences come to an end are explained in the questions on whether the owners' association can ban a holiday let and on the end of holiday let licences in Barcelona.