How to obtain a vivienda de uso turístico (VUT) licence in Madrid in 2026: Decree 79/2014 requirements, regional registry, City Council Special Hospitality Plan and penalties for operating without licence.
The dual licence: regional + municipal
Renting a home for stays under 30 days in the Madrid region — whether through Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo or direct booking — is a vivienda de uso turístico (VUT) activity. It requires two separate authorisations: a regional licence for the tourism activity and a municipal licence covering the urban use of the property.
The regional licence is obtained through a responsible declaration filed with the Directorate-General for Tourism of the Comunidad de Madrid, under Decree 79/2014 regulating tourist apartments and VUTs.
In Madrid city, the municipal layer is the Special Hospitality Plan (PEH), approved by the City Council in 2019, which requires independent street access for properties in much of the central district. Other municipalities have their own urban ordinances.
Decree 79/2014 requirements
- ✓Valid habitability certificate (cédula de habitabilidad) or first-occupancy licence.
- ✓Minimum surface per guest and minimum room dimensions per the regulation.
- ✓Basic mandatory equipment: heating, hot water, full furniture and kitchenware.
- ✓Accessible first-aid kit.
- ✓Complaints sheets (hojas de reclamaciones) available to guests.
- ✓Visible "VUT" plate on the property exterior.
- ✓Registry number (CTRTM) shown in all advertising — including Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo listings.
Madrid City Council Special Hospitality Plan (PEH)
The PEH, in force since 2019, regulates hospitality uses based on the property location. In Ring 1 (historic centre) and parts of Ring 2, the PEH requires independent street access without sharing the building entrance with residential apartments.
In practice, this rules out many flats in residential blocks of central Madrid. Properties that were already operating before the PEH must prove pre-existence and apply for the corresponding activity licence.
Step-by-step application
- ✓1. Verify that the property complies with the municipal PEH (in Madrid city, check the current zoning map).
- ✓2. Gather the documentation: Land Registry note, habitability certificate, energy performance certificate, municipal activity licence if applicable.
- ✓3. File the responsible declaration of activity start on the Comunidad de Madrid e-office.
- ✓4. Receive the registry number (CTRTM) within ~7-15 business days.
- ✓5. Display the "VUT" plate on the exterior and publish the CTRTM in all advertising.
- ✓6. Register the property as an obliged subject in SES Hospedajes to start filing traveller reports.
Penalties for operating without licence
- ✓Minor infringement: up to €3,000. For example, not displaying the CTRTM in advertising.
- ✓Serious infringement: €3,001 to €30,000. Operating without filing the responsible declaration or advertising unregistered units.
- ✓Very serious infringement: €30,001 to €300,000. Repeat offending, prolonged unauthorised activity, or wilful breach of the PEH.
- ✓The City Council can also start an urban-legality restoration procedure forcing activity to cease.
Don't forget SES Hospedajes
A tourist licence is the gateway, not the finish line. From that point on, every guest must be registered in SES Hospedajes within 24 hours of arrival under Royal Decree 933/2021. The VUT is, for these purposes, an accommodation establishment.
BookCheckin automates this second obligation: the guest completes online check-in before arrival, scans their ID and signs; BookCheckin files the traveller report to SES Hospedajes within the legal window and keeps the proof of submission.