A Brief Summary of Legislative Changes relating to the Property Market in October 2026

October has been the busiest month for Spanish housing legislation in years. Two new decrees, a VAT measure that fell and came back within a week, and a snap general election have all landed at once. Here’s what’s actually confirmed, what’s still pending, and what it means if you’re buying, selling, or renting out a property in Benalmádena.

October 2026 at a glance:

• Two decrees, one still falling, one still pending. Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 was rejected by Congress on 2 October and fell entirely. It was replaced on 6 October by RDL 28/2026 (rental contract duration reform, effective 15 November) and RDL 29/2026 (reintroduces the 10% IVA on short lets, in force for most provisions since 8 October).
• Both decrees still need validating. With the Cortes dissolved ahead of the 29 November snap election, the Diputación Permanente of Congress votes on whether these decrees stand on 16 October. We’ll update this page once that vote happens.
• 10% IVA on holiday lets — not yet confirmed. If validated, short lets of 30 nights or fewer lose their VAT exemption from 1 December 2026, with an exception for the landlord’s own habitual residence.
• Correcting a common misconception. A holiday licence is tied to the property and generally transfers on sale — but if the Community of Owners registered a ban before the sale, that ban binds the new owner regardless of the licence.
• Property purchase tax (ITP): nothing confirmed for Andalucía. We’ve only found an unrelated Catalonia-specific proposal.

The short version: a lot has been announced, very little is settled. On 29 September, the government approved Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, including a new 10% IVA charge on short-term lets. Congress rejected it outright on 2 October — the decree fell entirely and stopped applying. The government responded on 6 October with two replacement decrees, published in the BOE on 7 October:

• Real Decreto-ley 28/2026 reforms rental contract duration under the LAU (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos), including an extraordinary two-year extension for certain existing tenancies and a cap on rent increases. It’s scheduled to take effect 15 November 2026.
• Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 replaces the fallen decree and has been in force for most provisions since 8 October 2026. It reintroduces the IVA measure on short lets and gives town halls in “stressed market” zones the power to surcharge IBI on tourist flats.

The catch: both decrees still need validating. Spain’s Cortes have been dissolved following the announcement of a snap general election on 29 November, so it’s the Diputación Permanente of Congress — not the full chamber — that votes on whether these decrees stand. That vote is scheduled for 16 October. If they’re rejected the way the first decree was, these measures fall again. We’ll update this page once that vote happens.

What May be Changing?

Assuming the decree is validated on 16 October, here’s what changes:

• Short-term furnished lets of 30 nights or fewer — the classic holiday rental — lose their current VAT exemption and move to the reduced 10% IVA rate, effective 1 December 2026.
• The exception: a property that is the landlord’s own habitual residence is excluded from the charge.
• Properties already offering full hotel-style services (reception, housekeeping, etc.) aren’t newly affected — they already paid VAT under a different regime.
• Separately, town halls in officially designated “stressed” housing markets gain the power to apply an IBI surcharge of up to 150% on tourist flats, scaled to how many a single owner holds. We haven’t found confirmation that Benalmádena has been designated a stressed zone — we’ll flag it here if that changes.

Our advice if you operate a holiday let: don’t restructure your pricing or accounting around this yet. Treat 1 December as a date to watch, not a date to act on, until the 16 October validation vote has happened.

Is a Holiday License Transferable?

This is worth addressing directly, because the short answer people give — “the licence belongs to the property, so it just transfers” — is true only part of the time.

What’s accurate: a VFT (Vivienda de Finalidad Turística) licence is tied to the property, not the individual owner, and since an administrative simplification in 2025, a buyer no longer has to submit fresh community paperwork at each change of ownership to keep using it.

What’s not accurate, and matters a great deal: if the Community of Owners has registered a ban on tourist rentals in the Registro de la Propiedad before the sale completes, that ban travels with the property — not the seller. A buyer purchasing that unit cannot legally continue the holiday-let activity, regardless of whether the previous owner was actively renting it out, and regardless of what the licence paperwork says. The licence being “tied to the property” cuts both ways: it also means a pre-existing, registered community ban is tied to the property too.

This has become more consequential since April 2025, when the default flipped nationally: tourist rental is now prohibited unless the community expressly authorises it, rather than the other way around. Combined with the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling confirming communities can ban tourist lets with a 3/5 majority vote, more buildings across the Costa del Sol are formally closing the door on new holiday-let activity than at any point in recent years.

Our advice: if a property’s holiday-let income is part of why you’re buying, don’t take the seller’s word or the existing licence number as proof you can continue it. Check the Registro de la Propiedad for any inscribed community restriction before you commit — this is a standard check we build into every relevant transaction.

What is Happening Now in the Benalmádena property Market?

A tightening pool of licensable stock. With community authorisation now required by default rather than assumed, and an increasing number of communities formally registering bans, the supply of apartments where a buyer can realistically continue or start a holiday let is shrinking relative to overall inventory. If holiday-let income is a priority for you, expect fewer qualifying properties and more competition for the ones that remain compliant.

On property purchase tax (ITP): nothing confirmed for Andalucía. We’ve seen proposals to cut ITP from 10% to 5% in Catalonia specifically, tied to that region’s own housing debate — that doesn’t apply here. We found no credible reporting of a national ITP change affecting Andalucía from this legislative package. Andalucía’s general transfer tax rate on resale property remains unchanged. We’ll update this if that changes.

Regulatory uncertainty is itself a market factor right now. Between a snap election, two decrees still awaiting validation, and a VAT measure that’s already fallen once, this is a genuinely fluid month. That uncertainty tends to favour buyers who can move decisively once rules are confirmed, and it rewards sellers whose properties are already clean on compliance — community-authorised, correctly registered, no pending disputes.

Summary and Advice on the Benalmádena property Market?

The reality check. None of this changes the fundamentals we’ve tracked all year — strong demand, record or near-record prices, a diversified international buyer base. What it changes is the compliance landscape for anyone relying on holiday-let income, and it adds a genuine “wait and see” element around the 16 October vote.

Strategic advice for October/November:

For buyers prioritising holiday-let income: verify the Registro de la Propiedad for any registered community restriction before making an offer — don’t rely on the existing licence number alone. If the IVA measure is validated, build the 10% cost into your yield projections from December onward.

For sellers of licensed holiday-let properties: your compliance story — community authorisation on record, no pending bans, clean licence history — is now a genuine differentiator, not a formality. Lead with it.

For everyone else: the core Benalmádena market — resale flats, long-term and owner-occupier purchases — isn’t directly touched by any of this. The decrees target the rental and holiday-let segment specifically.

View all Benalmádena property for sale or contact our team to arrange viewings, including listings held by other agents.

Is the 10% IVA on holiday lets already in force?

Not yet, as of mid-October 2026. It’s part of Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, which still needs validation by the Diputación Permanente of Congress on 16 October. If validated, it would apply from 1 December 2026 to short lets of 30 nights or fewer.

Does a holiday-let licence automatically transfer when I buy a property?

Generally yes, as the licence is tied to the property rather than the individual owner. However, if the Community of Owners registered a ban on tourist rentals in the Registro de la Propiedad before the sale, that ban applies to the new owner too, regardless of the existing licence.

Can a Community of Owners ban holiday lets after I’ve already bought a licensed property?

If your property was already operating as a registered holiday let before the community’s ban was approved and registered, the new ban generally doesn’t apply retroactively to your existing licence. The critical factor is the timing of the ban’s registration relative to your licence or purchase.

Has Andalucía’s property purchase tax (ITP) changed under the new decrees?

We found no confirmed national or Andalucía-specific change to ITP from the current legislative package. A proposal to cut ITP exists in Catalonia specifically and doesn’t apply here.

Why is there a shortage of properties where holiday lets are permitted?

Since April 2025, tourist rental has been prohibited by default unless a community expressly authorises it — a reversal of the previous rule. Combined with more communities formally registering bans, the pool of compliant, licensable properties is narrowing relative to total housing stock.