Should you let your home to holidaymakers, or to a family who will stay for years? It depends on the home, on how much time you want to give it, and on rules that changed a lot in 2026. Here we compare both options for a typical flat on this coast: 2 bedrooms, about 100 m² and a communal pool in Estepona or Marbella. We are a long-term letting agency and look at it from that side, but with published data, not impressions.
Good to know: Several rules on this page come from Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026. A decree-law must be confirmed by parliament within 30 days (Constitution, art. 86). If it is not, those measures lapse. We flag each point that depends on it.
The short answer
| Holiday let | Long-term let | |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Higher per night, very different between summer and winter | A fixed rent every month |
| Work | Check-ins, check-outs, cleaning and messages every few days | One change of tenant every few years |
| Costs | Platforms, management, cleaning, utilities and supplies | The agency fee, once per lease |
| Wear and tear | High, from many short stays | Low, with a tenant who looks after their home |
| Rules | Andalusian register, your community's approval, possible town hall limits, VAT from December 2026 | Spanish tenancy law (LAU), leases of up to 5 or 7 years |
| Main risk | Quiet seasons and rule changes | Unpaid rent, which you can insure |
The numbers for a typical flat
Our starting data:
- Occupancy: 74% on average from June to September and 62% for the rest of the year, from INE's tourist apartment occupancy survey for the Costa del Sol zone, September 2025 to August 2026. These are tourist apartments run as businesses. A single home may fill fewer nights.
- Nightly rate: €180 in summer and €110 for the rest of the year. AVVAPro, the Andalusian holiday home association, forecast €210 a night for August 2026 in Málaga province outside the city (Agenttravel). We adjusted that figure to each season using INE's average hotel rate for the Costa del Sol.
- Long-term rent: €2,140 a month. This is our estimate for Selwo, Cancelada and El Paraíso, furnished with a pool, based on idealista's rental price reports and fotocasa.
| One year | Holiday let | Long-term let |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy | 241 nights | 12 months, less any empty time |
| Gross income | €32,800 | €25,680 |
| Platform fees (15.5%) | €5,080 | €0 |
| Management (20% of income) | €6,560 | €0 |
| Cleaning (51 stays, €60 each) | €3,080 | €0 |
| Utilities, supplies, insurance and admin | €3,660 | €0, paid by the tenant |
| One empty month every 3 years | €0 | €710 |
| Typical agency fee (one month plus VAT every 3 years) | €0 | €860 |
| Net before tax | €14,420 | €24,110 |
Both figures are before community fees, IBI property tax, basic home insurance and income tax. The platform fee is what Airbnb charges most hosts. The management fee is the middle of the usual 15% to 25% range in Spain (Hostaway).
On these figures, the long-term let leaves about €9,700 more a year. To match it, your holiday let would need to earn about 45% more than the average. If you manage it yourself, about 11% more would do, but the work of a small hotel becomes yours. A penthouse with sea views may beat these averages. A flat with no views, far from the beach, probably will not. Try your own numbers in the calculator on this page.
VAT on short stays: from 1 December 2026, letting a furnished home for 30 nights or fewer carries 10% VAT (IVA), unless it is the owner's own main home (RDL 29/2026, art. 7). If you cannot raise prices, the holiday net in the example would fall by about €3,000 a year. Check with your tax adviser.
Holiday let rules in 2026
The Andalusian register
To let to holidaymakers, the home must be registered as a tourist home (vivienda con fines turísticos, VFT) in the Andalusian Tourism Register (Registro de Turismo de Andalucía), through an online declaration (declaración responsable). The registration number must appear in every advert. Decree 31/2024, in force since February 2024, made the requirements stricter:
- air conditioning in bedrooms and the living room if you let in the hot months, and heating if you let in winter;
- at least 14 m² of built area per guest, a maximum of 15 guests and a second bathroom from 6 guests;
- declaring the periods of the year when you let. Advertising outside them counts as unregistered activity.
Lets of more than two months in a row to the same person fall outside these tourism rules.
Town hall limits
The same decree lets town halls limit tourist homes by building, area or period. As of 9 October 2026 we found no approved limits in Estepona or Benahavís. In 2025 Marbella announced a town register of tourist homes and a rule to limit tourist use of ground-floor shop premises. Check with the town hall before you buy or register.
The national registration number
From July 2025, Royal Decree 1312/2024 also required a single national registration number to advertise on platforms. In May 2026 the Supreme Court annulled that register, because it overstepped the regions' powers. Today the Andalusian number is the one that counts.
Your community of owners
Since 3 April 2025, starting a holiday let in a flat in a shared building (propiedad horizontal) needs the community's express approval, by three fifths of the owners holding three fifths of the shares (Horizontal Property Law, arts. 7.3 and 17.12). By the same majority, the community can also limit or ban the activity and raise that home's share of the fees by up to 20%. These decisions are not retroactive. Check the community statutes too: some already ban tourist use.
Guests, insurance and tax
- You must record each guest's details and send them to the Ministry of the Interior (Royal Decree 933/2021).
- Check that your insurance covers paying guests and third-party liability. Many home policies do not.
- In areas declared a stressed housing market, the town hall may add a surcharge to the IBI property tax on tourist homes (RDL 29/2026, art. 8).
- For Spanish income tax (IRPF), letting a home as a tenant's main residence can qualify for a reduction on the net income for Spanish residents. Holiday lets do not. If you do not live in Spain, a different tax applies. Check with your tax adviser.
What a long-term let offers
- Steady income: one rent every month, updated as the lease says.
- Lower costs and less wear: the tenant pays their own utilities and looks after the home as theirs.
- Clear terms: on a home lease (vivienda habitual), the tenant can stay up to 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company (LAU, art. 9). They can leave after 6 months with 30 days' notice, with no compensation on leases signed from 8 October 2026 (art. 11). If you may want the home back for yourself or close family after the first year, the lease must say so.
- Money at signing: at most one month's rent in advance, one month's deposit (fianza) and up to two months of additional guarantee. In Andalucía, since 24 January 2026 the landlord holds the deposit and no longer lodges it with the regional government (Law 5/2025, additional provision 6).
- Insurable risk: you can take out rent-default insurance, but you cannot require the tenant to pay for it (LAU, art. 36.5).
What about seasonal contracts?
Since 8 October 2026, a temporary lease needs a real, provable reason, such as a work posting or a course of study, and it is the landlord who must prove it (LAU, art. 7.2). It must last more than 31 days and, as a general rule, no more than 12 months (art. 9 bis). If there is no valid reason, if it runs past 12 months without justification, or if more than two contracts follow each other, it counts as a home lease from the start. It is no longer a way to let from September to June to a family who lives here.
When each option makes sense
A holiday let may pay off if:
- the home is on the beachfront or has views that justify high rates;
- you want to use it for a few weeks a year;
- your community approves and your town hall does not limit it;
- you accept uneven income and more work, or pay a manager.
A long-term let usually pays off if:
- you live far away and want a predictable rent without hosting guests;
- it is a family flat in a complex, without exceptional views or location;
- you would rather not depend on changing rules and taxes for tourist lets.
How we work with owners
We find checked families and professionals for home leases in Estepona, Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara and Benahavís. You pay one fee, agreed in writing, and only when the lease is signed. The tenant pays us nothing. More on our owners page and in The Honest Let.
This guide is general information about Spanish and Andalusian rules, checked on 9 October 2026, with figures based on published data. It is not legal or tax advice. Ask a lawyer and your tax adviser about your own case.