If I buy a flat with a holiday let licence, does the licence pass into my name? How long can I use it?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It does not pass to you automatically, but in principle you can keep using it if you notify the town council of the change of holder and the flat still meets the requirements. The rules do not regulate that change in detail, so it is advisable to confirm it with the town council before buying. In the 262 municipalities covered by Catalan Decree-Law 3/2023, including Barcelona, flats that were already operating in November 2023 have until November 2028 to obtain planning permission or close, unless an extension is granted. In principle, the purchase does not extend that period or make it start again. Outside those municipalities, the tourism rules set no expiry date for the tourist authorisation (“título turístico”). How to put it in your name Decree-Law 3/2023 says nothing about a sale. What the Catalan tourism regulations do say is that the holder is one of the details entered in the Catalan Tourism Register (“Registre de Turisme de Catalunya”) and that town councils notify the Register of any change in those details. The authorisation relates to a specific home and cannot be transferred to another. In principle, the sale does not extinguish it, but nor does it pass it to you automatically. You must notify the town council of the change of holder so that the council can pass it on to the Register. In addition, the flat must still meet the requirements. If the flat already has the planning permission required by the decree-law, it is not certain that you will be able to keep it. These licences are granted in limited numbers and the general rule is that licences of that kind cannot be transferred. Ask the town council about it as well before buying. In the rest of Spain, the change of holder depends on the tourism act of each autonomous community. How long it will be valid for you It depends on where the flat is: In the 262 municipalities covered by Decree-Law 3/2023, including Barcelona, flats that were already operating when it came into force, on 9 November 2023, have until November 2028 to obtain planning permission or cease the activity. There can be a single extension of up to five more years, which is not automatic. If the flat already has that planning permission and you can keep it, it lasts five years and can be extended for periods of the same length if the municipality's planning rules allow it. Outside those municipalities, the tourist authorisation remains valid as long as the flat meets the requirements, although the town council can restrict holiday lets through its planning rules. If the municipality is later added to the decree-law's list, those already operating will have five years from the order that includes it. In Barcelona those licences will not be granted if the City Council maintains its position, as explained in the question on the end of licences in Barcelona. Bear in mind what you are paying. If the flat is worth more because it has a licence, that value depends on an activity that in those municipalities may end in November 2028. The decree-law provides for no compensation other than the adaptation period itself. According to the “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, which upheld it in its judgment 64/2025 of 13 March, there is no acquired right to run a holiday let forever. As the extension is not automatic, it is best not to count on it when deciding on the price. Before buying Ask the town council how it processes the change of holder and what documents it requires. Check that the authorisation is valid, in the seller's name and free of open proceedings, as explained in the question on how to check whether a flat has a legal holiday let licence. Put in writing in the contract that the seller answers for all of this and will cooperate with the change of holder. Also provide for what happens if the change cannot be achieved, for example a price reduction or the option not to go ahead. Notify the change as soon as you sign the public deed, so that you are the holder recorded in the Tourism Register. Look at the by-laws of the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”). The tourist authorisation does not protect you against them. If the ban on holiday lets was entered in the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry, when you buy, it binds you even if the seller had a licence, as explained in the question on whether the ban affects those already operating.