The VUT licence (Andalusia)
Introduced under Decree 28/2016 and updated by Decree 31/2024, the VUT licence is what lets an owner legally rent to tourists in Andalusia. Every Alhaurín el Grande short-term rental listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO or any other platform needs one, and Alhaurín el Grande currently sits on 198 registered VUTs under this regime.
Who grants it, and how quickly
The Junta de Andalucía's regional tourism office. Application is via their online portal. For straightforward cases in Alhaurín el Grande we've seen licences issued in as little as one working day; 2 to 5 days is more typical. Speed depends largely on how complete the supporting documents are, which is where a manager familiar with the process makes a real difference. Rural finca properties, common around the Alhaurín el Grande campo, may also need water rights, septic status, and DAFO paperwork sorted before the licence application is filed.
Whose name the licence is in
A detail many Alhaurín el Grande owners miss: under current Andalusian regulations the VUT licence is registered in the name of the rental management company, not the individual owner. That is because the manager is the entity taking commercial responsibility for the short-term rental activity.
For owners this is actually the better deal. Licence-holder responsibilities (annual filings, guest-registration obligations, tax liaison, compliance audits) sit with us, not with you. When we manage a property our name goes on the licence; your rental income still arrives in your account. See how the management package works.
The 2025 community-vote rule
This rule only applies to new VUT applications. If your Alhaurín el Grande property already holds a valid VUT licence issued before 3 April 2025, it continues to operate under the previous rules; no community vote is required to keep running.
For new applications in community buildings (an apartment block, townhouse development or urbanisation), Ley Orgánica 1/2025 (the April 2025 amendment to the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, in force 3 April 2025) requires a 3/5 majority vote from community owners as part of the licence approval. In practice: an ordinary or extraordinary community meeting is called, the VUT application is formally proposed, and it goes on the minutes with enough votes in favour.
In Alhaurín el Grande, established urbanizaciones near the golf course and the settled expat estates tend to be permissive; some newer community developments have blanket short-term rental bans in their statutes. We read the comunidad position at onboarding for every property, so there are no surprises after a licence is issued.
What you need before applying
- Property ownership documentation (escritura)
- Community vote in favour (where applicable, for new applications only)
- Proof of insurance for short-term rental use
- Minimum quality standards (beds, bathrooms, kitchen; VUT has a specifications table)
- Occupancy licence from the property (licencia de primera ocupación)
- Cédula de habitabilidad or equivalent
- For rural fincas: DAFO status, water-rights and septic checks
The NRUA has been annulled
What Alhaurín el Grande owners need to know
The NRUA (Número de Registro Único de Alquiler), introduced by Royal Decree 1312/2024 and briefly in force from 1 July 2025, was annulled by the Spanish Supreme Court in May 2026. It is no longer a requirement for short-term rentals in Spain.
The regional VUT licence remains the registration that counts. Any NRUA numbers issued during the brief period the register operated are effectively spent; nothing needs to be filed against them going forward, and Airbnb and Booking.com have removed the enforcement gates that briefly required them.
Owners who had an NRUA-linked annual filing (the N2 report) pencilled for February 2027 no longer need to prepare one. If any part of your listing setup still references an NRUA number, it can be quietly removed.
For Alhaurín el Grande owners the practical position is straightforward: one registration counts, the Junta de Andalucía VUT, plus the community-vote rule above where applicable. The regulatory picture is calmer than it was twelve months ago, not busier.