ETV — Holiday Rentals
*Tourist rentals on Mallorca are strictly regulated and constantly changing. Anyone calculating with rental yield must check, before buying, whether the specific property is eligible for a licence.*
⚠️ Currency warning: The ETV rules change frequently (moratoria, zoning). Before any purchase with rental intent, obtain an up-to-date case-by-case review from the Consell de Mallorca / a specialist law firm. Points marked 🔴/🟡 are especially volatile.
ETV (Estancia Turística en Vivienda)#
Tourist rental licence for residential properties. Legal framework: the Balearic tourism law (Ley 8/2012, amended among others by Ley 6/2017) + current decrees. Administration/zoning via the Consell de Mallorca.
Requirements#
- Valid
cédula de habitabilidad(≤ 10 years) + energy performance certificate (→ Ch. 02/09). - Acquired
plazas turísticas(tourist places) from the Bolsa (see below). - Registration number (
número de registro/ NRUA) — mandatory in every listing since 2025;
platforms (Airbnb/Booking) must display it.
- Consent of the owners' community for an apartment in a multi-family building (
plurifamiliar).
Moratorium & Bolsa de plazas (Decreto-ley 4/2025) 🟡#
- Moratorium on new/transferred ETV places since 11.02.2022 (4 years).
- Decreto-ley 4/2025 (11.04.2025): ban on new places in
plurifamiliar(apartments)
across the entire archipelago from 16.04.2025 (exception: terraced/semi-detached houses); sanctions up to €500,000; bolsa temporal de plazas via the CBAT (Consorci Borsa d'Allotjaments Turístics).
Price per plaza (Bolsa) 🟡#
| Type | Price/place |
|---|---|
unifamiliar (villa/detached) | €3,500 |
plurifamiliar (apartment) | €875 |
| only 2 months/year (ETV60-like) | €291.67 |
One "place" = as a rule 2 guests per bedroom. Example villa with 4 bedrooms → 8 places × €3,500 = €28,000 (payable over 5 years, non-transferable for 5 years). The bottleneck is availability, not the price (limited convocatorias, order of entry/lottery).
⚖️ The owners' community may ban ETV — STS 1232 & 1233/2024 ✅#
STS 1232/2024 and 1233/2024 of 03.10.2024 (Tribunal Supremo Pleno) ✅: "limitar o condicionar" in Art. 17.12 LPH includes a complete ban. A community can ban holiday rentals by a 3/5 majority (not retroactive for existing licences).
Learning: Before buying an ETV apartment, review the estatutos and the community's resolutions — it could ban the rental or ban it in the future (3/5).
Sanctions & Ecotasa#
- Illegal rental (without licence/DRIAT): fines, platform listings without a registration number
up to ~€400,000–500,000.
- Impuesto de Turismo Sostenible (ITS / "Ecotasa"): collected by the host per guest/night:
holiday home €2 (high season 1 May–31 Oct) or €1.50 (low season); from the 9th night −50 %, children < 16 exempt. 🟡 An increase was discussed in 2025, but postponed.
- Rental IRNR: 19 % net (EU) / 24 % gross (non-EU countries) — details → Ch. 14.
Distinctions#
Alquiler turístico (ETV) ≠ alquiler de temporada (seasonal rental, LAU) ≠ vivienda habitual (permanent residence). The seasonal rental as a "loophole" is increasingly being regulated (→ Ch. 13).
In depth: procedure & operation#
DRIAT (Declaración Responsable de Inicio de Actividad Turística)#
Marketing is permitted upon submission of the DRIAT to the Consell de Mallorca (not only upon approval). Attachments include: proof of place (CBAT), municipal "zona apta" certificate, Anexo 6 Decreto 20/2015 (quality plan, ≥ 70 points), valid cédula, for plurifamiliar the community's consent, for ETV60 empadronamiento. After acquiring the place, there is a 3-month deadline to file the DRIAT.
NRUA & guest reporting — new obligations 2024/2025 ✅#
- NRUA (
Número de Registro Único de Alquiler): nationwide mandatory number since 1.7.2025
(EU Reg. 2024/1028 + RD 1312/2024 + Orden VAU/653/2025), applied for via the Ventanilla Única Digital of the Colegio de Registradores; mandatory in platform listings.
- SES.HOSPEDAJES (RD 933/2021, since 2.12.2024): guest data within 24 h to the Ministry of the Interior
(~18 data points, 3-year retention); sanctions €100–€600,000 (LO 4/2015).
CBAT bolsa — acquiring the plazas#
Allocation by public lottery (not "first come"); convocatorias normally in September / January / May (🟡 "March 2026" was a reactivated special call, 1,069 plazas). Payment in 5 annual instalments (20 %) possible; 5-year transfer lock. unifamiliar = ownership, plurifamiliar/ETV60 = renewable every 5 years.
Operating obligations#
Liability insurance ≥ €300,000 ✅, complaints book, registration number in the listing + to the guest. placa requirement ✅: externally visible "ETV" pictogram with the número de signatura (200×200 mm, turquoise blue; Anexo 1 Decreto 20/2015). 🟡 Heating/cooling is a mandatory requirement in the modernisation plan (Anexo 6). IVA: holiday rental without hotel-type services is IVA-exempt; with services (reception, ongoing cleaning, laundry, catering) 10 %. 🔎 The discussed removal of the exemption (→ 21 %) is a future matter (~2028), not in force from 2025.
Sanctions (Ley 8/2012) 🟡#
graves €4,001–40,000 (marketing without DRIAT: €20,001–40,000); muy graves €40,001–400,000 (platforms too). Ancillary sanctions: prohibition of activity, closure.
Palma — tightening 2025/2026 ✅#
Palma prohibits (Oct 2025) holiday rentals in all modalities, limited to the 639 existing dwellings; Feb 2026: "zona única no apta" → a complete halt to new places.
❓ FAQ#
May I rent out my apartment on Mallorca to tourists? Only with an ETV licence (cédula + energy certificate + acquired plazas + registration number). In multi-family buildings, holiday letting has required the express consent of the owners' association since 3 April 2025; it may restrict or prohibit it by a 3/5 majority (Ley Orgánica 1/2025, art. 17.12 LPH; not retroactive).
Sources (selection)#
- Ley 8/2012 / Ley 6/2017 (Turismo IB) · Decreto-ley 4/2025 · Consell de Mallorca / CBAT
- STS 1232 & 1233/2024 (Art. 17.12 LPH) → Ch. 23 · Hacienda (ITS Baleares 2025)