You do not have to decide whether the flat upstairs is legal. An inspection settles that, with a file open and the paperwork in front of it. What you do have to get right is which counter you take it to, and there is more than one.
That is where it gets tangled. The town hall points to the autonomous community, the autonomous community asks about the dwelling, the property administrator talks about general meetings and majorities, and each of them is right about their own patch. With the added quirk that the neighbour who files the complaint rarely finds out how it ended.
First, a clarification: “illegal” can mean two different things, and it is worth keeping them separate because they are reported in different places.
What “illegal tourist flat” exactly means
An accommodation can be in breach on two levels that have nothing to do with each other:
- It has no tourist licence. It operates without being entered in the tourism register of its autonomous community. That is a breach of the regional tourism law, and the power to penalise it lies with the autonomous community (and, in its urban-planning aspect, with the town hall).
- It does not submit guest reports. Even if it has a licence, it may not be sending its guests’ data to SES.HOSPEDAJES as required by Royal Decree 933/2021. SES.HOSPEDAJES, the portal the reports go to, is run by the Ministry of the Interior, but the penalty is imposed by the Government Delegation in the autonomous community, and we cover it in the RD 933/2021 penalties.
As a neighbour, what you normally notice is the first: a constant stream of people with suitcases, key boxes in the entrance hall, noise, a listing on Airbnb or Booking. The missing guest reports cannot be seen from the landing. That is why most neighbour complaints are channelled through the tourism and urban-planning route, not through the guest-report one.
The four ways to report an unlicensed flat
You do not have to choose only one. The usual and most effective approach is to combine them.
1. The town hall (urban planning and activity licence)
The town hall has authority over urban-planning matters: whether tourist use is permitted in that building, whether there is an activity licence when one is required, and whether the area is saturated or has the activity restricted. Many councils in cities under tourist pressure have a unit or a specific channel for reporting irregular tourist dwellings.
The exact procedure (general application, urban-planning complaint form, electronic register) varies a great deal from one municipality to another, so it is worth confirming it on the website of your town hall or at its information office. Do not invent a form name: look it up on the municipal electronic office.
2. Your autonomous community’s tourism inspectorate
The tourist licence is a regional matter. Each autonomous community has its own register and its own tourism inspection service, which is the body that can check whether the dwelling is registered and, if it is not, open a penalty procedure.
Almost all autonomous communities have a channel for tourism-related complaints or claims (in the competent department or on the regional tourism website). Again, the exact name of the procedure and the body changes depending on the territory, so confirm it on your community’s tourism website. If you do not know which register applies to that dwelling or which rules apply, our guide to tourist licences by autonomous community points you to the register and the law for each region.
3. The owners’ association and the Horizontal Property Law
If the flat is in a building under a horizontal-property regime, the owners’ association has its own tools, separate from the public administration.
Since the reform of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Horizontal Property Law, LPH), brought in by Ley Orgánica 1/2025 (in force from 3 April 2025), a new dwelling for tourist use needs the favourable agreement of 3/5 of the owners, who must in turn represent 3/5 of the participation quotas1. Both majorities are required together, not either one: 3/5 of your neighbours but under 3/5 of the quota and the agreement fails. If that activity began without the required agreement, or contravenes the association’s statutes, the general meeting can act.
In practice, this comes down to three usual steps:
- Bring the matter to the owners’ general meeting and have it recorded in the minutes.
- Formally require the owner to cease the activity (a burofax, a certified legal notice, or a reliable demand from the chair or the administrator leaves proof).
- If it continues, take it to the civil courts through the association. This is where advice from a lawyer and from the property administrator comes in; it is not something resolved by an administrative complaint alone.
This route is independent of the tourism one: an association can act under the LPH even if the administration has not yet imposed a penalty.
4. The platform where it is advertised (Airbnb, Booking)
Where a registration procedure has been established, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 requires platforms to obtain the registration number before allowing the listing, to display it on the listing, and to run random checks on its validity2. We explain it in Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 and short-term rentals. That is why Airbnb, Booking and the rest remove listings that do not comply, and they all have a channel for reporting them. If the flat appears without a registration number, with a number that does not match, or hides it, you can report it to the platform.
It is the quickest way to make the listing disappear, but also the most limited: the platform can withdraw the listing, not penalise. For there to be administrative consequences, you still need the town hall or the regional inspectorate.
Summary: what each reporting route can achieve
| Route | Authority | What it can achieve |
|---|---|---|
| Town hall | Urban planning, activity licence | Procedure, cessation of activity, urban-planning penalty |
| Tourism inspectorate (autonomous community) | Regional tourist licence | Penalty procedure for operating without registration |
| Owners’ association (LPH) | The building’s internal regime | Formal demand and, where appropriate, civil court action |
| Platform (Airbnb, Booking…) | Their own rules | Withdrawal of the listing |
What evidence is worth gathering
A complaint with specific details progresses much better than a generic grievance. What tends to help:
- The exact address and, if you know it, the cadastral reference or the floor and door.
- The listing: link, screenshots with the price per night, the photos and, above all, whether a tourist registration number appears or not.
- Specific dates and facts: guest arrivals and departures, the presence of key boxes, check-in signage, noise incidents with date and time.
- Association documentation: minutes where the matter was discussed, the absence of the double 3/5 agreement, statute clauses that prohibit the activity.
You do not need to gather exhaustive evidence or enter the flat: with the address and the listing, the inspectorate already has somewhere to start.
Can you report anonymously in Spain?
Here you have to separate what the law says from what happens in practice.
A formal administrative complaint is not anonymous. Article 62.2 of Law 39/2015 requires complaints to “state the identity of the person or persons submitting them”, along with an account of the facts and, where possible, identification of those presumed responsible3. File through the register and you will have to identify yourself.
What can happen is that the information reaches the authorities another way. Under that same article, a complaint is the act by which someone informs the administration of a fact that “could justify the initiation of proceedings on its own motion”. The inspectorate can act on information it receives even without an identified complainant. The difference is that nobody is obliged to: an anonymous tip is a lead, not a case file.
Two consequences tend to surprise people, even when they do identify themselves:
- Reporting does not make you a party to the proceedings. Article 62.5 puts it bluntly: submitting a complaint “does not, in itself, confer the status of interested party in the procedure”. In practice you will usually not be told how it ends, and you cannot appeal the decision.
- They only have to reply to you in one specific case. Where the complaint alleges harm to public funds, Article 62.3 requires the administration to give reasons for not opening proceedings and to notify you either way. Outside that situation, no such duty exists.
If what worries you is having to live next door to this person afterwards, the owners’ association route works differently: the matter is raised at a general meeting and recorded in the minutes, so the initiative is collective rather than one named neighbour’s.
How much is the fine for renting without a licence?
This is the question almost everyone asks first, and the honest answer starts with “it depends on the region”: the fine is imposed by the regional government and each tourism law has its own scale.
Operating without being on the register is usually classified as a serious infringement, which is the bracket that applies most often in practice. To give you a sense of the order of magnitude, six regions with the penalty article of their own law beside them:
| Region | Serious infringement | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Andalucía | €2,001–18,000 | Ley 13/2011, art. 784 |
| Illes Balears | €5,001–50,000 | Ley 8/2012, art. 1235 |
| Canarias | €1,501–30,000 | Ley 7/1995, art. 796 |
| Cataluña | €3,001–60,000 | Ley 13/2002, art. 947 |
| Comunitat Valenciana | €10,001–100,000 | Ley 15/2018, art. 948 |
| Madrid | €3,001–30,000 | Ley 1/1999, art. 619 |
Very serious ones are reserved for repeat offences or systematic clandestine activity, and they climb a good deal higher: the ceiling is €500,000 in the Balearic Islands and €600,000 in Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Basque Country10. The full table, with all three brackets and the nineteen regions and autonomous cities, is in renting without a tourist licence: fines by region, which is where we keep those figures up to date.
Worth tempering expectations: a region’s bracket reaching six figures does not mean your neighbour is about to be fined the top of it. Within the bracket, the administration grades the penalty by the profit obtained, how long the activity ran, whether any guest was harmed and whether it is a first offence. For a flat that has not been operating long, the low end is the norm.
The infringement also prescribes, and the period changes by region: the serious one prescribes in one year in Andalucía and the Valencian Community, and in two years in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country, counted from the day it was committed11. That clock rarely runs in favour of someone still letting the flat. In Catalonia, infringements consisting of breaching a permanent obligation do not prescribe at all. In Andalucía, where the conduct implies a permanent obligation on the holder, the period does not start until the activity ceases. And in the Balearic Islands, continuing infringements count from the last act and permanent ones from the moment the unlawful situation is removed.
What other consequences someone operating without a licence faces
Beyond the fine, there are usually accessory consequences: withdrawal of the listing by the platforms, an order to cease the activity and, in the event of repeat offences, an increase in the penalty bracket. And if the dwelling does have a licence but does not submit the reports, the state penalty under RD 933/2021 is added on top: €100 to €600 where the report arrives late, which is the minor infringement, and €601 to €30,000 where it never arrives, which is the serious one12. It is imposed by the Government Delegate in the autonomous community: the Ministry of the Interior runs SES.HOSPEDAJES and only sanctions very serious infringements, which this regime never reaches. We detail it in the penalties for not submitting the guest report.
The administration does not penalise automatically: it opens a procedure, checks and resolves. And it does so against a clock. The maximum period for notifying the decision is the one set by the rules governing each procedure, which cannot exceed six months unless an act of parliament sets a longer one, and it is three months where those rules set none. If it expires with no decision notified, the penalty procedure lapses and is filed away (articles 21 and 25.1.b) of Ley 39/2015)13. That is why providing specific details from the start speeds up the process.
If you are the owner: how to regularise the property
If you have reached this point because you are the one renting and you fear being outside the rules, regularising yourself almost always works out better on your own initiative than waiting for a formal demand. There are two separate obligations. The tourist licence of your autonomous community: in almost all of them this is a free responsible declaration on the electronic office, and you have the step-by-step register by register in the guide to tourist licences by autonomous community. And the guest report: once you operate within the rules, each guest generates a submission to SES.HOSPEDAJES within 24 hours; start with the SES.HOSPEDAJES guide to understand how it works.
Frequently asked questions
Can you report an illegal tourist flat anonymously in Spain? Reporting an illegal tourist flat anonymously is not possible through the formal administrative route: article 62.2 of Ley 39/2015 requires the complaint to state the identity of the person filing it. What can happen is that the inspectorate acts on its own initiative using information that reaches it without an identified complainant, but then nobody is obliged to open a file: an anonymous tip is a lead, not a procedure.
Does reporting a tourist flat make you a party to the procedure? Reporting a tourist flat does not make you a party to the procedure. Article 62.5 of Ley 39/2015 states that filing a complaint does not in itself confer the status of interested party, so you will normally not be told how it ends and you cannot appeal the decision. The one exception is a complaint alleging harm to public assets, where the administration must notify you whether or not it opens a file.
How much is the fine for renting a tourist flat without a licence in Spain? The fine for renting a tourist flat without a licence is set by the regional government, and each tourism act has its own scale. Operating without being entered in the register is usually classed as a serious infringement, with very serious reserved for repeat offending or systematic clandestine activity. The amounts for all three tiers, region by region, are in the guide to fines for renting without a tourist licence.
How long does the administration take to resolve a complaint about an illegal rental? The administration takes as long as the rules governing each procedure allow, which cannot exceed six months unless an act of parliament sets a longer period, and three months where those rules set none. If the period expires with no decision notified, the penalty procedure lapses and is filed away.
What evidence do you need to report an illegal tourist flat in Spain? The evidence you need to report an illegal tourist flat is whatever identifies the property and establishes the activity: the exact address including floor and door, screenshots of the listing with its URL and its registration number if shown, specific guest arrival and departure dates, and any prior communication with the owner or the residents’ association. The more specific the account, the sooner the inspectorate can act.
This article is for informational purposes and does not replace professional legal advice. The channels, forms and competent bodies vary by municipality and autonomous community: always confirm the specific procedure with your town hall and with your community’s tourism website before filing a complaint.
Sources
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Ley Orgánica 1/2025, of 2 January, on efficiency measures for the public justice service, consolidated text (BOE). Its fourth final provision amends paragraph 12 of article 17 of Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal, which is where the double 3/5 majority sits. ↩
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Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, article 7 (compliance by design: the platform must obtain the registration number before allowing the offer, display it in the listing and randomly check its validity where a registration procedure exists), Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex). ↩
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Ley 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, article 62 (initiation of proceedings by complaint), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 13/2011, of 23 December, on Tourism in Andalusia, article 78.2 (serious infringements are fined €2,001 to €18,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 8/2012, of 19 July, on Tourism in the Illes Balears, article 123 as worded by Decreto-ley 4/2025 (serious €5,001 to €50,000, very serious €50,001 to €500,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 7/1995, of 6 April, on Tourism Regulation in the Canary Islands, article 79.2.b) (serious ones, between €1,501 and €30,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 13/2002, of 21 June, on tourism in Catalonia, article 94.1 (serious between €3,001 and €60,000, very serious between €60,001 and €600,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 15/2018, of 7 June, on tourism, leisure and hospitality in the Comunitat Valenciana, article 94 (serious from €10,001 to €100,000, very serious from €100,001 to €600,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 1/1999, of 12 March, on Tourism Regulation in the Comunidad de Madrid, article 61.1.b) (serious between €3,001 and €30,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 13/2016, of 28 July, on Tourism (Basque Country), article 100.1.c) (very serious ones, a fine between €100,001 and €600,000), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Prescription articles of the seven laws cited, all in the BOE consolidated text: Andalucía, Ley 13/2011, art. 75.1 (serious: one year) and 75.2 (counted from the moment the activity ceases where the conduct implies a permanent obligation); Illes Balears, Ley 8/2012, art. 121 (serious: two years; continuing ones from the last act, permanent ones from the removal of the situation); Canarias, Ley 7/1995, art. 74 (serious: two years); Cataluña, Ley 13/2002, art. 100 (serious: two years; paragraph 3 makes infringements consisting of breaching a permanent obligation imprescriptible); Comunitat Valenciana, Ley 15/2018, art. 96 (serious: one year); Madrid, Ley 1/1999, art. 65 (serious: two years); País Vasco, Ley 13/2016, art. 107 (serious: two years). ↩
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Ley Orgánica 4/2015, of 30 March, on the protection of public safety, article 39.1 (very serious €30,001 to €600,000; serious €601 to €30,000; minor €100 to €600), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
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Ley 39/2015, article 21 (duty to resolve and maximum period: six months unless an act of parliament sets a longer one, three months where the procedure sets none) and article 25.1.b) (lapse of the penalty procedure where it expires with no decision notified), consolidated text (BOE). ↩
