Registering your address (empadronamiento)Article 7 of 11 · 2 min read
Registering your address from a hostel, holiday rental or camper
Registering at a hotel or short-let is usually refused. It works only if the business signs an authorisation or the town hall accepts a stay certificate. Most hostels are refused too, and a camper has no fixed address.
Key rules
- Guests: If you have no contract, expect to need the owner's signed authorisation and a copy of their ID.
- Fallback: If the address is refused, register later at your lease address or ask about a social services route.
Can you register from temporary housing?
Registration is called empadronamiento, and you do it at the padrón office. EU citizens, UK citizens with Withdrawal Agreement rights and non-EU citizens all register under the same padrón rules; only the ID shown differs (your passport is enough).
Which places usually work and which usually don't
Usually workable:
- A home you rent, with your contract.
- A home you own.
- A room in a shared flat, with a contract or the main tenant's or owner's authorisation.
- A friend's or relative's home, with the owner's signed authorisation.
Usually refused:
- Hotels.
- Tourist holiday rentals.
- Most hostels, because they are not a habitual residence.
Some town halls accept a long stay in a hostel or pension if it is genuinely where you live. Do not count on it. A camper or van has no fixed address, so it normally does not qualify.
What you need from the stay
The documents are the same as for any address: your ID and the signed hoja padronal, plus your contract if you rent or the owner's authorisation if you are a guest. Proof of address lists them.
If the temporary address is refused
You have two routes.
- Register later at your lease address. Once you have a contract, register there.
- Use social services. If you cannot show any right to the home, some municipalities register vulnerable people or people in informal housing through a social services report, and people with no fixed home at a social services address or shelter: registering without a contract.
If the town hall refuses, ask for the refusal in writing and appeal it: what to do if the town hall refuses.
More in Registering your address (empadronamiento)
- What registering your address (empadronamiento) is and why Spain needs it
- Must you register your address, whatever your immigration status?
- How to register your address at the town hall (ayuntamiento)
- Proof of address for registration: contract, deed or owner authorisation
- Registering your address without a rental contract in your name
- What to do when your landlord will not let you register
- Registering your partner, children and other household members
- Online or in person: how registration differs between town halls
- Does registering your address put your immigration status at risk?
- Should you register if you split your year between Spain and home?
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