Inheriting a Property with a Tourist Licence in Spain: What the Heirs Must Do
When the inherited property is a holiday flat that has been operating on Booking.com, Airbnb or Vrbo, the heirs are not just inheriting a building. They are inheriting an operating business with regulatory obligations, ongoing bookings, employment relationships in some cases, and a tourist licence registered with the regional government. The licence does not transfer automatically. In Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia each region operates a different regime, and a failure to handle the transfer correctly within the period after the death can result in the cancellation of the licence and the loss of all forward bookings. This article explains how the inheritance of a tourist-licensed property is handled in the most affected Spanish regions, the time limits for notifying the change of ownership, the documents required, the interaction with the inheritance tax return, the question of whether existing reservations can be honoured during the transitional period, and the income-tax treatment of bookings received between the date of death and the registration of the heirs as new owners. A dedicated inheritance lawyer in Spain with experience in tourist licensing should be involved from the first week to preserve the licence.
Why a tourist licence is a separate inherited asset
In every major Spanish region, a property used for short-term tourist rental requires a licence from the regional tourism authority. The licence is granted to a specific owner for a specific property and is recorded both in the regional tourism registry and, in some regions, in the Land Registry. When the owner dies, the licence does not automatically pass to the heirs. The licence holder has changed (the deceased is no longer the holder); the property has new owners (the heirs); and the regional authority must be notified within a defined period or the licence lapses.
The financial value of the licence can be substantial. In municipalities that have closed registration to new licences — much of central Málaga, the Balearic Islands, Barcelona — an existing licence transferred along with the property may add 10% to 25% to the property’s value, because a buyer cannot otherwise obtain one. Treating the licence as an inherited asset and transferring it correctly is therefore both a regulatory requirement and a material commercial decision. The detailed regional rules are covered in our article on tourist licences and inherited property in Spain.
Andalusia: the change of ownership procedure
In Andalusia, tourist rental properties are regulated by Decree 28/2016 (as amended), which created the Registry of Tourist Apartments (Registro de Turismo de Andalucía). When the licence holder dies, the heirs must notify the registry of the change of ownership within thirty calendar days of the inheritance becoming effective — that is, within thirty days of the notarial deed of acceptance being signed, or thirty days of an alternative document evidencing the heirs’ title. The notification is made on the form modelo de declaración responsable, accompanied by a copy of the death certificate, the inheritance deed (or the certificate of last will plus the will), and the heirs’ NIE numbers.
During the period between the death and the notification of the change, the licence remains technically in the deceased’s name, but bookings made through online platforms in that period are treated as made under the existing licence. Provided the notification is made within thirty days of the inheritance becoming effective, the licence continues without interruption and the licence number is preserved. A delay beyond thirty days may result in the licence being suspended or cancelled, which in turn may make future bookings illegal under the regional rules.
Balearic Islands: a stricter regime
The Balearic Islands operate one of the most restrictive tourist-rental regimes in Spain. Under Law 6/2017 and the subsequent regulatory developments, new licences for tourist rental of individual flats in residential buildings in Palma and other parts of Mallorca have been effectively suspended for several years. Existing licences are extremely valuable. On inheritance, the licence transfers to the heirs but the heirs must register the change with the Conselleria de Turismo and pay a registration fee.
The Balearic regime also imposes a maximum total number of tourist beds per island, distributed across municipalities. A licence that lapses (for example, because the heirs delay the notification) cannot be replaced — the bed quota is lost permanently. For an inherited property in Mallorca, Menorca or Ibiza, the regulatory care required is therefore exceptionally high, and the cost of getting it wrong is the permanent loss of a uniquely valuable asset.
Catalonia: HUT licences and the Barcelona moratorium
In Catalonia, tourist rental of dwellings (Vivienda de Uso Turístico, HUT) is regulated by Decree 159/2012. Each HUT licence is tied to a specific property and a specific owner. On inheritance, the change of ownership must be notified to the Generalitat within thirty days of the inheritance taking effect. The notification is made through the Registry of Tourism (Registre de Turisme de Catalunya) and confirms the heirs’ title and acceptance of the obligations associated with the licence.
Barcelona operates a moratorium on new HUT licences across most of the city. Inheriting a property with an existing HUT licence in central Barcelona is therefore commercially significant. The licence cannot be replaced if lost, and the property’s value depends materially on the licence being preserved. The notification timeline must be respected and the heirs should expect closer scrutiny from the Generalitat than in less restricted regions.
Valencia and Madrid: lighter regimes but still regulated
Valencia regulates tourist rental through the Registry of Tourist Companies, Establishments and Professions (Registro de Empresas, Establecimientos y Profesiones Turísticas) under Law 15/2018. Inheritance triggers a change-of-ownership notification within thirty days. The regime is less restrictive than the Balearic or Catalan systems but the notification requirement is the same.
Madrid currently operates a relatively lighter regime, requiring registration with the Comunidad de Madrid tourism registry. Recent municipal-level rules in Madrid city have made new licences harder to obtain, particularly in the central districts. An inherited licence in central Madrid is therefore commercially valuable, although less so than in Barcelona or Palma. The change-of-ownership notification timeline applies in Madrid as in other regions and should be treated as mandatory.
Honouring existing bookings during the transitional period
A practical question that arises immediately is what to do with bookings that were confirmed before the death and are due to be honoured after it. In all the major regions, the answer is that the bookings can be honoured during the transitional period — typically the thirty days for notification of the change of ownership plus a reasonable additional period during which the regional authority confirms the registration — provided the change of ownership notification is duly made and the platforms are kept informed.
The income from those bookings is treated as inheritance income — that is, income arising on assets of the estate between the date of death and the date of acceptance. It is reportable by the heirs in the inheritance tax return as part of the estate value, and the cash flow goes into the estate account, not into the heirs’ personal accounts. Once the inheritance is accepted and the property is registered in the heirs’ names, the bookings continue under the heirs’ ownership and the income becomes their personal income for IRPF or IRNR purposes.
Income tax treatment between death and acceptance
The tax treatment of bookings honoured between the date of death and the registration of the heirs is split. Bookings honoured before the death are part of the deceased’s personal income tax (IRPF or IRNR depending on the deceased’s tax residence) up to the date of death. Bookings honoured after the death but before the heirs’ acceptance are treated as income of the estate (herencia yacente), which is a separate tax person under Spanish law and files its own tax return.
After the heirs accept the inheritance, the bookings become their personal income. For non-resident heirs, the income is taxed at 19% (for EU/EEA residents) or 24% (for residents of other countries) on the gross income, with limited deductions. For resident heirs, the income is taxed at progressive IRPF rates with the deductions allowed for rental activity. The split tax treatment is administratively fiddly and the heirs should keep careful records of the dates of all bookings and payments.
Liability for past breaches of the tourist regulations
The inheritance of a tourist-licensed property may also bring inheritance of the deceased’s regulatory exposure. If the deceased had been operating in breach of regional rules — for example, accepting bookings without the correct registration, or failing to lodge required guest information with the police — and a regulatory procedure was open at the date of death, the procedure can continue against the heirs. Spanish administrative law generally does not transmit sanctions personally to heirs (sanctions are personal to the offender), but the heirs may inherit the practical consequences in the form of licence suspensions or removal from the registry.
A pre-acceptance investigation of the tourist file is therefore advisable for any inherited property that has been operating commercially. The investigation looks at the licence status, any open regulatory procedures, any complaints from neighbours or the community of owners, and the regularity of the deceased’s reporting to the regional tourism authority. Findings inform the decision on whether to accept unconditionally, under benefit of inventory, or to renounce — and on how to structure the post-inheritance operation of the property.
Selling an inherited tourist-licensed property
If the heirs decide to sell rather than continue operating, the licence is an important part of the sale and should be expressly transferred to the buyer in the sale deed. The buyer must register the change of ownership with the regional tourism authority. In closed-registration regions (Palma, Barcelona, parts of central Málaga), the transferable licence is a major part of the property’s market value, and sale negotiations should expressly identify the licence transfer as a condition of the sale. The interaction of inheritance, tourist licensing and onward sale is set out more fully in our guide to selling inherited property in Spain.
Where the heirs decide not to operate the property as a tourist rental and not to sell, the licence may be voluntarily cancelled. The cancellation is irreversible in closed-registration regions and should be considered carefully. Where the heirs are uncertain about future plans, the licence should be retained and reported as required even if the property is temporarily not in active rental use.
Action steps in the first thirty days after the death
Day one to five: instruct a Spanish lawyer; obtain the death certificate; identify the regional tourism authority and the licence number; check the status of the licence in the regional registry. Day five to fifteen: contact the rental platforms (Booking, Airbnb, Vrbo) to update the contact details and arrange for incoming bookings to be handled by the heirs or their representative. Day fifteen to thirty: prepare the change-of-ownership notification, gather the supporting documents (death certificate, NIE of heirs, draft inheritance deed or interim title evidence), and file the notification with the regional tourism authority. Day thirty onward: proceed with the inheritance file in parallel with the licence transfer, ensuring that the inheritance deed is signed within the timeline that allows the licence transfer to be fully confirmed before any commercial decisions about the property are made. To start this process, contact our inheritance team with the property address, the licence number and the deceased’s details.
A tourist-licensed property is the inheritance case where the procedural deadline is most aggressive and the consequences of missing it are most permanent. Thirty days passes quickly during a bereavement. The single most important step is the early engagement of a lawyer experienced in both inheritance and tourist licensing.