Spain's Supreme Court annulled the NRUA: what changes for your holiday rental and what is still mandatory (2026)

In May 2026 Spain's Supreme Court annulled the national Single Rental Register created by Royal Decree 1312/2024. The NRUA number and the annual report filed with the N2 form (Order VAU/1560/2025) went with it. Here is what still applies, which number to show on Airbnb and Booking.com, and how to claim back the fees you paid.

What did the Supreme Court annul?

Royal Decree 1312/2024 created a national Single Rental Register: every holiday or seasonal rental needed a number (the NRUA, also called NRU or NRA) to be listed on platforms, and owners had to file a yearly activity report with the Land Registry. Several regions and industry associations challenged it, and the Supreme Court ruled that the register invaded regional powers. The operative part is the same in the three rulings published in the Official Gazette (BOE):

• Ruling 620/2026 of 19 May, appeal by the Valencian Government — BOE, 8 June 2026.
• Ruling 629/2026 of 21 May, appeal by Apartur and ATA — BOE, 26 June 2026.
• Ruling of 1 June 2026, appeal by the Region of Murcia — BOE, 18 July 2026.

Articles 5, 8, 9 and 10 are annulled in full, together with article 12(b) and (c), the second additional provision and any other reference to the single register: registration, the number, its verification by platforms and the annual deposit. The consolidated text of the Royal Decree now marks them as annulled.

What is still in force?

• Your regional tourist licence or registration (VUT, VFT, HUTB, VT, ETV, VV…). It is what allows you to rent and now identifies your property.
• Guest registration under Royal Decree 933/2021: to SES.Hospedajes, to the Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia or to the Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, within the legal deadline.
• The Digital Single Window for rentals and the duty of platforms to transmit activity data for statistical purposes. The Court kept them because the State does have competence over statistics and economic planning.
• Your tax obligations and the tourist tax where it exists.

Which number should I show on Airbnb and Booking.com?

Legally, you no longer need an NRUA to list your property: the article that required platforms to check it is one of the annulled ones. The number to show is the one from your regional tourist register, exactly as your region issued it.

What platforms ask for is another matter. As of today neither Airbnb nor Booking.com has said anything about the ruling, and Airbnb's help page for Spain still shows one field for the national number and another for the regional one. The safe approach:

• Always fill in your regional number.
• If you already had an NRUA, you can leave it: it does no harm.
• If a platform demands a national number you do not have, use the exemption option it offers and keep the ruling at hand.

If a listing was removed only for lacking an NRUA and your regional licence is in order, you can publish it again.

The annual report and the N2 form (Order VAU/1560/2025)

Order VAU/1560/2025 approved the model for the annual short-term rental report, filed with the Land Registry using the N2 application of the Spanish Association of Registrars. It developed article 10.4 of Royal Decree 1312/2024, which has been annulled in full.

The Order is still published in the BOE — nobody has formally repealed it — but it has lost the rule it depended on, and published legal analyses agree that the annual deposit can no longer be required. The Association of Registrars has not issued any statement, and the N2 application is still available. Some accountants still prefer to file it; if yours does, GoToCheck still generates the CSV file the N2 application imports.

Can I get back the fees I paid?

According to the analyses published after the ruling, the way to recover registration and deposit fees is a state liability claim (reclamación de responsabilidad patrimonial) to the Ministry of Housing, within one year of the ruling's publication in the BOE. Neither the Ministry nor the Registrars have opened a refund procedure of their own. Check it with your accountant or a lawyer before the deadline.

Frequently asked questions

This article summarises the situation as of 28 September 2026, based on the rulings published in the BOE. It is not legal advice: if in doubt about your case, ask your accountant.