Tourist accommodation in vivienda in the Balearic Islands, technically known as an Estancia Turística en Vivienda (ETV), is one of the most restricted forms of holiday letting in Spain. On top of the ordinary administrative authorization there is a requirement that does not exist in other Spanish regions: the property must have tourist places (plazas turísticas) available, a limited resource whose acquisition has been frozen by an island-wide moratorium since 2022. In 2026 that framework needs to be read together with three rules that have reinforced it: Decree-Law 4/2025, Organic Law 1/2025 on horizontal property, and the new system of daily coercive fines against illegal supply. This guide brings the full, up-to-date framework together and explains what it means for owners, buyers and homeowners' associations.
What is an ETV, and why is the Balearic system different?
Law 8/2012 on tourism in the Balearic Islands — substantially amended by Law 6/2017 and, more recently, by Law 3/2022 and Decree-Law 4/2025 — regulates the tourist letting of housing under the figure of the ETV. Unlike the Catalan or Madrid model, management powers do not sit with the regional Govern but with the Consells Insulars of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, each with its own register, its own marketing plan and, in Mallorca's case, its own consortium for allocating places.
The defining feature of the Balearic system is the tourist place (plaza turística): it is not enough to meet the property's technical requirements — you also need places allocated to that island, a finite resource whose acquisition has been frozen since February 2022. In practice, any viability assessment of an ETV in the Balearic Islands requires checking Law 8/2012, the applicable island planning rules, the moratorium in force and the availability — or not — of places in the relevant pool, all at the same time.
The ETV modalities
Balearic regulations distinguish three modalities of tourist accommodation in housing, each with its own regime and term.
ETV — Independent single-family home
Allows year-round tourist letting. Registration has no expiry date, although the rules require the quality accreditation to be renewed every six years to remain operational. It is the modality with the highest cost for acquiring places, around 3,500 euros per place in Mallorca, payable in five annual instalments.
ETVPL — Housing in a multi-family building
Applies to properties under horizontal property regime, legally restricted to terraced and semi-detached house typologies. It has a five-year term and requires an extension procedure once it expires. Since Decree-Law 4/2025 came into force, no new licenses of this modality can be processed in multi-family buildings, except for the expressly exempted typologies.
ETV60 — Owner's main residence
Allows the tourist letting of the owner's habitual residence for a maximum of two months (60 days) a year, in full months although not necessarily consecutive ones. It has a five-year term and requires proof, via a certificate of registration (empadronamiento), that the property is the owner's main residence. This modality is also subject to the moratorium on acquiring places.
Under every modality, the property must be let in full — never by individual rooms — and a single owner can only market a maximum of three properties as ETV.
The moratorium on places and Decree-Law 4/2025
Since 11 February 2022, a moratorium lasting up to four years has suspended the acquisition of new tourist places in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. While it lasts, no new ETV registrations can be processed — including the ETV60 modality — unless the applicant already holds places of their own in the "pool" corresponding to that island.
Decree-Law 4/2025, of 11 April, against illegal supply and for the quality of tourism in the Balearic Islands, added a further layer of containment: since 16 April 2025, the creation of new places in multi-family buildings has been banned across the whole archipelago, with the sole exception of terraced and semi-detached house typologies. At the same time, the rule reactivates the exchange of places between private individuals — always without increasing the total number — and creates a transitional pool that collects places that are deregistered on each island, to ensure the total stock of places does not grow while the island councils finish setting their definitive ceilings.
According to the Govern's own figures when the rule was approved, the Balearic Islands have around 160,000 tourist places in housing already authorized for a population of roughly 1,240,000 residents — a figure that explains the restrictive direction of the reform in a context officially described as a housing emergency.
Unless you already hold places of your own, or can access them through an exchange between individuals or an island pool, in 2026 it is not possible to process a new ETV in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza or Formentera. Any offer to "manage a tourist license in the Balearic Islands" should be treated with caution when the specific origin of the places is not proven.
Requirements for legally operating an ETV
Beyond the availability of places, a legal ETV in the Balearic Islands must meet a set of formal and technical requirements:
- Filing of the Declaración Responsable de Inicio de Actividad Turística (DRIAT) — a responsible declaration of the start of tourist activity — with the relevant Consell Insular.
- A valid habitability certificate (cédula de habitabilidad), which sets the maximum legal number of places.
- A municipal certificate confirming the property is located in an area designated suitable for tourist use under the applicable town planning.
- A certificate proving the acquisition or availability of the necessary tourist places.
- Notice to, or authorization from, the homeowners' association where the property is under horizontal property regime (see below).
- A valid civil liability insurance policy.
- Registration of guests with the National Police or the Guardia Civil.
- Display of the registration number on all advertising and on listings on marketing platforms.
The absence of any of these elements — not just a lack of places — can trigger a separate sanctioning procedure, so compliance should be reviewed as a whole rather than limited to checking that a registration number exists.
Quality requirements reinforced by Decree-Law 4/2025
For the renewals and new authorizations that remain possible, Decree-Law 4/2025 raises the property's quality requirements:
- A minimum age of five years with strictly private residential use, evidenced through official documentation.
- An energy efficiency rating of class B or C.
- Renewable energy systems for producing domestic hot water.
- Individual meters for water and other utility supplies.
These requirements, combined with the cost of acquiring places and the moratorium itself, significantly raise the barrier to entry for any new addition to the holiday-let market in the islands.
Penalties for operating without authorization
The penalty regime itself sits within Law 8/2012 on tourism in the Balearic Islands, reinforced by successive reforms. The amounts in force in 2026 are:
- Minor infringements: up to 5,000 euros.
- Serious infringements: from 5,001 to 50,000 euros.
- Very serious infringements: from 50,001 to 500,000 euros.
Marketing a property without the corresponding DRIAT is classed as a serious infringement, and Law 6/2017 extended liability to both the property owner and the operator of the activity, for each property offered. Marketing platforms that advertise illegal supply, or that fail to display the definitive registration number for each listed property, can be sanctioned directly, with fines of up to 400,000 euros.
Since 2026, the reform of Law 8/2012 also introduces a system of daily coercive fines: once a cease order has been notified, refusal to stop the activity can lead to fines of between 500 and 5,000 euros per day until the irregular marketing stops, independently of the main penalty imposed in the file.
The final amount of a penalty depends on how the infringement is classified, on whether there is repeat offending, and on mitigating or aggravating circumstances that must be assessed case by case. It should not automatically be assumed that the maximum amount set out in the law will be applied.
Homeowners' association: the three-fifths majority
Since 3 April 2025, Organic Law 1/2025 amended article 17.12 of the Horizontal Property Law and reversed the general rule: tourist activity in a property under horizontal property regime is now banned unless the homeowners' association expressly authorizes it. That authorization requires the favourable vote of three-fifths (3/5) of the total owners, who in turn must represent three-fifths of the participation quotas — a double quorum that must be met simultaneously.
The same majority allows the association to limit, condition or directly prohibit the activity, as well as to approve a surcharge of up to 20% on common expenses for tourist properties, in compensation for the greater use of shared areas. In the Balearic Islands, this reform adds to a requirement already imposed by the region's own tourism rules: the absence of approval from the homeowners' association, where it has not expressly authorized the activity, is itself a direct ground for prohibiting the marketing of the ETV.
The reform has no retroactive effect: anyone who was already legally carrying out the activity before 3 April 2025 keeps that right, without prejudice to the association later using the same three-fifths majority to introduce limits or surcharges going forward.
If your authorization is denied or you receive a penalty
Faced with a refusal of the DRIAT, a cease order, or a sanctioning procedure linked to the marketing of an ETV, it is worth distinguishing several lines of defence depending on the stage of the procedure:
- Submissions during the investigation phase of the file, to challenge the facts alleged or provide evidence in defence.
- An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada or reposición) against the sanctioning decision, within the applicable statutory deadline, before the competent Consell Insular.
- A judicial review appeal (recurso contencioso-administrativo) once the administrative route has been exhausted without a favourable outcome.
- In certain cases, challenging a refusal of place availability where there are reasonable doubts about the correct application of the moratorium or the places pool to the specific property.
Deadlines are strict and missing them can close off the available defences, so it is advisable to act from the very first moment a notification is received, particularly given the new system of daily coercive fines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can new tourist places be obtained in the Balearic Islands in 2026?
In practice, no, except for limited exceptions. The moratorium in force since 2022 suspends the acquisition of new places across the four islands, and Decree-Law 4/2025 additionally bans new places in multi-family buildings throughout the archipelago, with the exception of terraced and semi-detached houses.
What happens to my ETV if I already have one registered?
A registered single-family ETV has no expiry date, although it requires the quality accreditation to be renewed every six years. An ETVPL in a multi-family building has a five-year term that can be extended, subject to the new quality requirements under Decree-Law 4/2025.
Do I need authorization from the homeowners' association?
Since 3 April 2025, yes, unless the activity was already being carried out legally before that date. Authorization requires a three-fifths majority of owners and quotas, and its absence is also a direct ground for prohibition under the Balearic tourism rules themselves.
How high can a penalty be for operating without authorization?
Up to 5,000 euros for minor infringements, between 5,001 and 50,000 euros for serious infringements, and between 50,001 and 500,000 euros for very serious infringements, in addition to cessation of the activity and possible daily coercive fines of between 500 and 5,000 euros.