Frequently Asked Questions

No. The law has been in effect since 1959 and is titled DECRETO 1513/1959, de 18 deAgosto. There have been several amendments to the law since then that extend the scope of the establishments covered but the basic principles remain the same.

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In the past the Guardia Civil have concentrated on collecting the details from the hotels but since 2015 they have extended the enforcement of the law to all the types of holiday rental accommodation.

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More recently, the Ministry of Interior has launched a new, centralise platform called SES Hospedajes. This system will supersede the Guardia Civil and is expected to replace the old system in 2024. 

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There are many changes and requirements within this new system which include the registration of ALL guests including children, the home address of all guests, email addresses and payment methods.

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Villa Check In already support this platform.

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The law is related to Article 12 of Organic Law 1/1992 of 21 February, Protection of Citizen Security which requires any person undertaking an activity that could be related to citizen security (including accommodation establishments) to carry out the registration of official ID documents of travellers. This information must then be provided to the State Security Forces who have published the following statement on the use of the information:

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Ensure compliance with the functions of prevention of criminal acts and facts from which they may derive criminal responsibilities in the investigation of terrorism and other serious forms of organized crime entrusted to the Civil Guard in the Organic Laws 2/1986, of Security Forces and Bodies, and 1/1992, on Security Protection Citizen, and enable the fulfilment of the commitment to adopt the measures necessary for the control of travellers who use the establishments of lodging, acquired by Spain in the Agreement of application of the Agreement of Schengen, of June 19, 1990. (Automated translation of the original Spanish) 

This law is in no way related to tax collection. 

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Ultimately, as a property owner in Spain you are responsible for ensuring you comply with tax rules but that is a totally separate issue. The law is there for civil protection and that is made clear in the document referred to above. We have spoken directly with the authorities and they have assured us that their only concern is national security.

The original 1959 law covered only travellers staying at hotels. In 1974, the law was amended to include apartments, bungalows and other similar accommodations: The full text of the amendment is:

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Article 1 of Decree 393/1974, of February 7 (BOE No. 43), provides:

The provisions of articles 1 and 2 of Decree 1513/1959, of August 18, and other provisions issued for its development, will apply to the rental of the apartments, bungalows and other similar accommodations of tourism character, regulated by the Order of the Ministry of Information and Tourism of 17 January 1967. (Automated translation of the original Spanish) 

Basically, if you receive money in exchange for accommodation at your property then this law applies to you.

Firstly, your property needs to be registered with the authorities and given a property and renter code. Without this you cannot comply with the rest of the requirements.

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Once the property is registered, the details of the official identification (passport or national identity card) of people staying at your property must be collected on or before entry. The details have to be verified against the original document and every individual, including children. is required to sign the registration. These details must then be presented to the authorities within 24 hours of the traveller arriving.

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The law states that the details must be collected on or before entry. This allows the document and the signature to be validated, and the person collecting the information can confirm that the document corresponds to the person presenting it. 

It's EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

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Anyone collecting or storing personal information in Spain must publish a data protection policy. This is the same as any UK based data collector needing to register with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and publish their policy.

On the 25th May 2018 a new set of EU wide rules (commonly referred to as GDPR) was introduced.

The fines for non-compliance with GDPR are harsh and are assessed on one of two levels depending on the infringement. The lower level is up to €10,000,000 or 2% of the worldwide annual revenue (whichever is the higher). The upper level is up to €20,000,000 or 4% of the worldwide annual revenue (whichever is the higher).

Villa Check In fully complies with all EU data protection requirements.

We'd obviously recommend getting a VV License but...

We have been assured by the authorities that their only concern is the protection of citizens. However, depending on which municipality your property is in, the need for a tourist license varies.