Short-Term Rentals in Mallorca 2026: Mandatory Registration, Fines Up to €500,000, and New Daily Penalties

If you bought a property in Mallorca thinking of renting it out to tourists, there’s one figure worth knowing from the start: up to €500,000 is the maximum fine under Balearic regulations for operating without registration in the most serious cases.

Since 2026 the regional government has also added daily fines of up to €5,000 for anyone who keeps advertising their property after receiving a cease-and-desist order. The rules have tightened noticeably over the past year, so it’s worth updating what you know before considering renting out your property.

In short: renting without registration in Mallorca can cost between €5,000 (minor infringement) and €500,000 (very serious infringement), plus new daily fines of €500 to €5,000 if you keep marketing the property after a cease-and-desist order. In addition, since 2026 there’s a new state-wide register of short-term rentals, mandatory annually, separate from the regional tourist licence (RTI).

What counts as a short-term tourist rental in Mallorca

These are short stays, usually by the day or week, in furnished properties marketed to tourists through listings, digital platforms, or intermediaries. The legal framework rests on Law 8/2012 on Tourism of the Balearic Islands, Decree-Law 3/2022, and each municipality’s own bylaws, plus the role of the Consell de Mallorca in zoning where short-term rentals are and aren’t allowed.

Mandatory registration: the number you can’t do without

Before publishing any listing, the property must have its tourist registration number (RTI, Registro de Inicio de Actividad Turística), applied for with the Conselleria de Turisme once it’s confirmed that the area allows it and the property meets the required standards: habitability certificate, energy performance certificate, and, in most cases, that the property is a single-family home or that its homeowners’ association hasn’t expressly prohibited it. Without that number, any listing on Airbnb, Booking, or similar platforms is, by definition, illegal.

It’s worth checking two things before buying a property with the intention of renting it out to tourists:

• Whether the property already has a valid, transferable tourist licence, and whether the registration number (RTI) matches the actual property.
• Whether the area where it’s located allows short-term rentals under the municipal urban plan (PGOU), regardless of whether the property already has a licence, because some areas have closed their quota of new licences.

The new annual register of short-term rentals

Since 2026 there’s also a state-wide Single Register of Short-Term Rentals (Registro Único de Arrendamientos de Corta Duración), which requires the owner to declare every year how the property has been used, under what rental arrangement, and for what purpose.

This register covers both properties with a tourist licence and seasonal rentals, which many owners used as a less-regulated alternative route for short-term renting. The underlying change is the approach: it’s no longer enough to obtain the initial permit — the administration now requires ongoing confirmation of the property’s actual use.

Failing to keep this register up to date doesn’t trigger an immediate automatic fine, but it does stop you from legally advertising the property on digital platforms, which in practice leaves the owner with no commercial visibility.

How much renting without registration can cost: the three fine bands

Balearic tourism law classifies infringements into three levels, and the amount of the penalty depends on the severity of the breach:

Type of infringement	Fine	Typical example
Minor	Up to €5,000	Minor formal or administrative breaches
Serious	Up to €50,000	Advertising accommodation without a registration number
Very serious	Up to €500,000	Continued illegal tourist operation, repeat offences

The new daily fines: the big change for 2026

On top of the main penalty, the regional government introduced a new mechanism in 2026: a daily coercive fine of between €500 and €5,000, triggered when the owner keeps marketing the property as tourist accommodation after receiving a formal cease-and-desist order from inspectors.

This daily amount doesn’t replace the main fine, it’s added on top of it, and it accumulates day after day until the property stops being advertised. If the owner ignores two consecutive orders, the case can be referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for a possible offence of disobedience. In practice, it’s the most deterrent mechanism the Balearic regulations have introduced so far, because it turns ongoing non-compliance into a cost that grows every day instead of a single, closed fine.

What a buyer should check before signing

If your intention when buying in Mallorca is to generate income from short-term rentals, it’s worth verifying, before signing the reservation contract:

• The exact status of the licence: in force, in progress, or non-existent.
• Whether the municipality and specific area allow new licences.
• Whether the purchase price realistically reflects that legal status: a property without a licence in an area with a closed quota is worth, in practice, considerably less as a short-term rental business than one with an already granted and transferable RTI.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rent my property out seasonally to avoid tourism regulations?
Not as a way to dodge oversight: the new 2026 short-term register also requires seasonal rentals to be declared, precisely because many owners used them for that purpose.

Does the tourist licence transfer with the property when it’s sold?
In many cases yes, it’s transferable to the new owner, but it’s worth verifying this explicitly in the paperwork before buying, since it doesn’t happen automatically in every municipality.

What happens if I get reported while I’m processing the licence?
Advertising the property before the registration number is granted is considered illegal renting, regardless of whether the process is under way, so it’s best not to advertise until you have the RTI in hand.

Do the daily fines have a maximum limit?
They accumulate for as long as the breach continues after the cease-and-desist order; the regulation sets no cap, so the cost grows the longer the property stays irregularly advertised.

Before buying with short-term rentals in mind, it may also help to check our guide to the Mallorca property market in 2026 and, if you’re a non-resident buyer, our article on non-resident taxation.