NRUA annulled in 2026 (STS 620/2026): what you need now

What was the NRUA and why did the Supreme Court annul it?

The NRUA — sometimes called NRA or NRU depending on the source — stemmed from Real Decreto 1312/2024 of 23 December, which regulated the Single Rental Registry procedure and the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (VUDA). The decree transposed EU Regulation 2024/1028, which harmonises short-term rental data collection and exchange across the European Union.

In judgment 620/2026 of 21 May, the Supreme Court (Third Chamber) annulled the provisions that created the Single Rental Registry and its number (NRUA): neither tourism nor the property registry gives the central State a competence title to impose its own registry over tourist properties — that competence belongs to the autonomous communities. Crucially, the ruling strikes down only the national number. The VUDA, the platforms' data-sharing duty, the statistics, EU Regulation 2024/1028 and the regional tourist licences (VFT, HUT, ETV, VUT, VV, VT) all remain fully in force.

In practice this means the code you must display to advertise your property is the one from your regional tourist registration — the VFT in Andalusia, the HUT in Catalonia, the ETV in the Balearics, and so on — not an NRUA number. Orden VAU/1560/2025 of 22 December, which approved the annual information model tied to the NRUA, lapses along with the registry it served.

Do I have to do anything about my NRUA now? Which number do I need to advertise?

After the annulment, there is no pending NRUA formality for hosts. Anyone who never applied does not need to; anyone who obtained a provisional or final NRUA need not renew it or worry about the annual information model tied to that registry. The layer that stays active is the regional one: owners and operators (agencies, Andalusian empresas explotadoras, property managers) must keep a valid regional tourist licence — VUT, VV, VFT, ETV, HUT, VT — and display that code in their listings. Seasonal rentals under article 3.2 of the Spanish tenancy law (LAU) marketed on platforms also remain subject to the regional regime.

Outside the tourism regime: hotels, hostels, guesthouses and campsites (with their own regimes), and permanent residential renting under Title II of the LAU. Floating dwellings and vessels used for short-term accommodation remain subject to the applicable regional rules.

In short: the valid number to advertise is no longer the NRUA but your regional tourist registration code. Platforms, the VUDA and inspections rely on that regional code. What actually exposes you to sanctions is not the absence of an NRUA — which has ceased to exist — but advertising without the corresponding regional licence, a scenario that remains within the sanctioning regime of Spain's consumer protection law and the regional tourism statutes.

• You do not need to apply for, renew or regularise any NRUA: the registry was annulled.
• The number you must display in listings is your regional tourist licence (VFT/HUT/ETV/VUT/VV/VT).
• Keep that regional licence valid: it is what platforms and inspections verify.
• Keep complying with SES.Hospedajes (guest register) and, where applicable, the VUDA — both remain in force.
• If you held an NRUA, you need not cancel or manage it: it lapses with the annulment of the registry.

How the application worked (historical reference — no longer applies)

Important: this section describes a procedure you no longer have to follow. The Single Rental Registry was annulled and there is no NRUA to apply for. We keep it as a historical reference for hosts who obtained the number while it was in force or who come across old documentation that still mentions it.

While it was in force, the NRUA was processed through the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (VUDA), the portal at sede.registradores.org. Everything was electronic, with a digital certificate or electronic DNI — access via Cl@ve PIN was never documented as a primary route. The provisional NRUA was issued the same day and the registrar certified within 15 working days, with a 7-day window to fix missing documents. None of this is required any longer.

Which number do I need now to advertise?

The ruling confirms the constitutional split: tourism is an exclusive competence of the autonomous communities (article 148.1.18 of the Constitution), which is why the State could not create its own registry over tourist properties. With the NRUA gone, only one operational layer remains to identify your property: the regional one (VFT, HUT, ETV, VUT, VV, VT), which authorises the activity and is the code that goes on the listing.

In practice, keep your regional licence active and valid with your autonomous community's tourism registry. It is the number platforms and inspections check, the one you must show on every listing, and the one exchanged through the VUDA. If the licence has been cancelled, suspended or never existed, you are advertising in breach — that, not the absence of an NRUA, is the real risk today.

What are platform obligations and how is enforcement structured?

The platforms' duty to verify and share data does not fall away with the NRUA annulment: EU Regulation 2024/1028 and the VUDA remain fully in force. What changes is the verified code — no longer a national NRUA, but the regional tourist licence number. Platforms query the VUDA via API before publishing and, if they receive an administrative notice to delist a property without a valid regional code, they have 48 hours to act.

The public precedent is the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' €64 million fine against Airbnb (2024-2025) for publishing tourism rentals without licences. The penalty was processed through Spain's General Consumer Protection Law (LGDCU) and shows the administration is both willing and tooled up to pursue mass non-compliance on platforms.

For hosts, specific fine ranges do not appear in RD 1312/2024 itself — the decree refers to the LGDCU general regime and to the regional tourism statutes. In practice, ranges go from €3,000 to €600,000 under the LGDCU and regional regimes (Andalusia, for example, reaches €600,000 for very serious offences under Decreto-ley 1/2025). Criminal liability only applies in cases of strict-sense document falsehood.

How does the annulment fit with EU Regulation 2024/1028?

EU Regulation 2024/1028 responds to the fragmentation of European short-term rental rules: each Member State had its own regime, which made it impossible to get an aggregate view of the market and held back Eurostat's harmonised statistics. The regulation requires every Member State to set up a single national digital entry point that registers every property and exchanges data with platforms and authorities — and that obligation is unaffected by STS 620/2026.

In Spain, the Single Digital Entry Point is the VUDA — operated by the Colegio de Registradores under the Ministry of Housing — and it keeps running. What lapses is the NRUA as a national identifier: the code now channelled through the VUDA is the regional tourist registration. From 20 May 2026, platforms operating in the single market must send monthly aggregate data to the national authorities, who pass it on to Eurostat.

For hosts, the practical upshot is simple: there is no longer an NRUA formality, but you must keep your regional licence valid, as that is the number feeding the EU system. Enforcement effectiveness even increases — from May 2026, inspections have near-real-time access to aggregated platform data, and EU harmonisation means a regional fine can more easily extend to other jurisdictions.