How many tourist flats are around an address, and why it matters

Key rules

• Registers: Tourist flats are registered by region, and not every register lets you search by exact address.
• Advert number: A tourist advert with no registration number is a warning sign.
• City limits: Limits and freezes on tourist licences differ by city and can change or be challenged in court.
• Street check: Visit at different times, including a weekend evening, to see real turnover.

Why density matters

Many tourist flats in one building or street usually means more noise, more people coming and going, and less of a neighbourly feel. It also means the area may change quickly, because several cities are cutting back tourist licences. Check density before you sign or pay anything.

Check the registers

Tourist rentals are registered by each region, not by one national body. Several regions publish searchable lists, including Catalonia, Andalucía, the Comunitat Valenciana, Baleares, Madrid and Canarias. What you can search by differs. Some let you search by municipality or registration number, and not all let you search by exact address. Some cities, such as Barcelona, also publish maps of tourist flats.

Practical steps:

1. Find your region's tourist register and search the town or street.
2. Look at the city's map of tourist flats if it has one.
3. Ask the town hall's urbanismo office what is licensed in the area. The resource below lists where to look.

Check the national registry

The national rental registry started on 1 July 2025, and each tourist-let advert must show its registration number. It also covers seasonal and room rentals. Owners need the regional licence first, where one is required. Platforms must show the number and may have to remove adverts without a valid one.

So an advert with no number is a warning sign. A number does not prove everything is in order, so you can check it against the regional register.

Read the street

Signs that a building has tourist flats:

• Key lock boxes on doors or railings.
• Suitcases being wheeled in and out.
• Different people arriving all the time, sometimes at odd hours.
• A registration plate or number beside the door.
• Buzzers labelled with just a number or a brand name.
• Overfilled bins and early check-in noise.

Visit at different times of day, including a weekend evening. Then search the booking platforms for the building's address area and count the listings you find.

Why crackdowns matter to you

Rules differ by city and region, and they change often. Some have been challenged in court.

• Barcelona plans to phase out all its roughly 10,000 tourist-flat licences by November 2028.
• Madrid restricts them in the central area.
• Valencia limited them to certain floors and zones in 2024.
• Palma banned new licences in 2025.
• Sevilla, Málaga, Bilbao, San Sebastián, the Canary Islands and some Balearic and Andalusian towns have limits or freezes.

In 2025, Airbnb and Booking were ordered to remove tens of thousands of listings without a registration number. After the national registry began, many more came down.

What buildings have seen so far: fewer tourist flats, some moving to long-term or temporada (mid-term) lets, less noise and turnover, and some owners selling. The effect on rents is disputed and limited so far.

For you, this means a tourist-heavy building may calm down, but a flat nearby may be sold or re-let. If you are buying, ask whether the flat itself has a tourist licence, because it may not be renewable. Check current rules with the city council and the Ministry of Housing.

Noise maps, tourist-flat registers and planning sources

Where to find hard evidence about an address

• Your city's environment (medio ambiente) web page: Open the strategic noise map (mapa estratégico de ruido). Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants must publish one, and it is updated every five years. Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Zaragoza and Málaga have online viewers. Search the city name with 'mapa estratégico de ruido'.

• National noise information system (SICA) of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition: Use its viewer for noise maps of big cities and of major roads, railways and airports.

• Transport ministry roads department, ADIF (railways) and Aena (airports): Check noise maps for state roads, railways and airports. Aena shows noise footprints on its airport environment pages. Regional governments publish maps for their own roads.

• Your region's tourist register (for example Catalonia, Andalucía, Comunitat Valenciana, Baleares, Madrid, Canarias): Search the published list of tourist flats. Options range from municipality to registration number, and not every register searches by address. Barcelona also publishes maps of tourist flats. Since 1 July 2025 each tourist-let advert must show a registration number you can look up.

• Town hall urbanismo office and council website planning viewer: Look up the planning rules for an address using its cadastral reference (referencia catastral, on the IBI property tax receipt or the Catastro website). Check the zoning, permitted height and use, and planned developments. Ask the office, often free by appointment, or request a formal urban planning certificate for a fee.

• Town hall urbanismo department and notice board (tablón de anuncios): Find building licences and works applied for nearby. Some councils publish licences granted online, larger projects appear in the notice board and the official gazette during public consultation, and a licence sign must be displayed on site. You can also make a public-information request through the council's transparency portal, which is answered within a month.

Frequently asked questions

Can I search a tourist-flat register by my exact address?

Not always, because each region runs its own register and address search is not offered by all of them.

Which cities are limiting or banning new tourist-flat licences?

Several cities now limit or freeze new licences, and the rules differ by city and region. Palma banned new licences in 2025, and Valencia allows tourist flats only on certain floors and zones. Madrid restricts them in the central area, and Barcelona plans to end all its roughly 10,000 tourist-flat licences by November 2028.

What changes in a building after a crackdown on tourist flats?

Buildings usually see fewer tourist flats, less noise and less turnover of guests. Some flats move to long-term or mid-term (temporada) rentals, and some owners sell.

Can I tell if a listing for a flat nearby is legal?

Yes, check whether the listing shows a registration number, since each advert must show one. Platforms have been ordered to remove listings without a valid number, including about 65,000 Airbnb listings in May 2025. You can then look up the number in your region's tourist register.