Litora
Not legal advice
The Short-Let Compliance Guide

Coast Clear 2026

Staying legal on the Riviera after the new EU rules — France · Italy · Spain.

On 20 May 2026, one European regulation quietly changed the rules for every holiday-let owner on the coast. Here's what it means, country by country, and exactly what you need to do.

Updated August 2026Covers FR · IT · ESReg. EU 2024/1028
!
This is general information, not official legal advice. Short-let rules change often and vary by commune and region. Always confirm with the relevant local authority (or a local lawyer/gestor) before you act. Current as of August 2026.
The shift

What changed on 20 May 2026

EU Regulation 2024/1028 went operational across all 27 member states at once. It doesn't ban anything — it builds the data plumbing that finally makes existing local rules enforceable. Four things now happen automatically:

i

Register

Every let needs a valid registration number from its national or local authority.

ii

Display

That number must show on every listing — Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and your own site.

iii

Data shared

Platforms send your identity, revenue and nights to authorities on a regular basis.

iv

Auto-suspend

No valid number where one is required? The platform must remove the listing.

✓ What the rule does

  • Binds every platform to verified registration display
  • Makes existing local caps & registration genuinely enforceable
  • Matches booking activity to registration records
  • Gives 450+ authorities one portal to flag & remove listings

✕ What it does not do

  • Legalise short-lets everywhere in the EU
  • Override national or local housing policy
  • Impose a single EU-wide night cap
  • Require registration in literally every jurisdiction
Country by country

The rules where you operate

Tap a country. The EU sets the plumbing; each state still decides what's legal — and the details differ a lot.

France

National portal live from 20 May 2026 · caps now matched to booking data
The number
Déclaloc — a 13-digit national registration number.
FR · 13 digits
Display
On every listing — Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and direct sites. Missing = suspended.
Night cap
120 nights/year for a primary residence (municipalities may lower it, e.g. to 90). Secondary homes in tense zones may need a change-of-use authorisation.
120 nights = the primary-residence ceiling
Tax
The loi Le Meur cut the furnished-tourism (meublé de tourisme) tax allowance. Collect and remit the taxe de séjour.
Reality check: in Feb 2026 two Paris owners were fined €80,000 and €150,000 for unregistered listings — and France's top court ruled the platforms themselves are on the hook too.

Italy

CIN mandatory since Jan 2025 · unusual physical-display rule
The number
CIN — Codice Identificativo Nazionale, via the national BDSR database.
IT · CIN
Display
On every listing and physically on the outside of the property. (Milan bans external key-boxes on public land from 2026 — arrange another handover.)
Also required
Safety kit (extinguisher, gas/CO detectors), guest reporting via Alloggiati Web, tourist tax, and a SCIA if run as a business.
Tax
Cedolare secca flat tax:
21%first property
26%from the second
Reality check: when Florence rolled out its ID-code, an estimated 20–30% of listings vanished as non-compliant operators dropped out.

Spain

The messiest of the three — two layers of paperwork
The numbers
1National registry (NRUA) — already live, ~€27 fee.
2Regional licence — varies by community: Catalonia HUT, Andalusia VFT, and separate schemes in Valencia, the Balearics…
Building consent
Many buildings now require a community-of-owners vote (often 60%) to allow tourist lets — plus a habitation licence.
Display
Show both the national number and the regional licence on all listings.
Direction of travel
Barcelona plans to end all 10,101 tourist-apartment licences by November 2028.
Reality check: in Dec 2025 Spain fined Airbnb €64 million for advertising 65,122 unlicensed listings. Check your region first — it decides everything.
Do this now

Your compliance checklist

Pick your country. Tick each step as you go — and tap the i for exactly how to do it and who to contact.

0% complete0 / 7
Check whether your commune requires registration — and if you’re a primary or secondary residence.
How to do itMost tourist communes (Paris, Nice, Cannes, Antibes…) require a declaration. Check your mairie's website or call its service urbanisme. Confirm primary vs secondary residence first — it changes every rule below.
Register and obtain your 13-digit Déclaloc number.
How to do itApply through your commune's téléprocédure or the national Déclaloc portal. You'll need the address, cadastral reference and owner details. A property manager can register on the owner's behalf — in France you can even register under your own SIRET as the declared host.
If a secondary residence in a "zone tendue", get a change-of-use authorisation.
How to do itApply to the mairie's changement d'usage service. Some cities demand compensation (converting commercial space to offset). This is where owners get caught — budget time.
Display the 13-digit number on every listing.
How to do itPaste it into the registration-number field on Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and your own site. No valid number = automatic suspension from 20 May 2026.
Respect the 120-night cap on primary residences.
How to do itPlatforms auto-block primary residences at 120 nights in regulated cities; some municipalities set 90. Track nights across all platforms, not just one.
Collect and remit the taxe de séjour.
How to do itAirbnb/Booking often collect it automatically — confirm the rate with your mairie/EPCI and whether any balance must be declared separately.
Declare the activity and choose your tax regime.
How to do itRegister the meublé de tourisme via the guichet unique (INPI) to get a SIRET; declare income under micro-BIC or réel. The loi Le Meur cut the micro-BIC allowance — a comptable is worth it.
0% complete0 / 7
Get an Italian digital identity — or a delegate who has one.
How to do itThe BDSR portal needs SPID or CIE. Foreign owners without one register through a delegated representative — a commercialista or property manager who holds SPID/CIE and a written procura (power of attorney).
Obtain your CIN via the BDSR portal.
How to do itApply on the Ministero del Turismo BDSR portal with a dichiarazione sostitutiva and your cadastral data (visura catastale). A manager with your procura + codice fiscale can do this for you — keep the CIN receipt.
Display the CIN on listings AND physically outside the property.
How to do itAdd it to every listing and affix it visibly on the building exterior. Note: Milan and others ban external key-boxes on public land — plan a smart-lock or in-person handover.
Install the mandatory safety equipment.
How to do itFit gas/CO detectors and portable fire extinguishers, and keep maintenance records. Habitability standards apply.
Register every guest via Alloggiati Web within 24 hours.
How to do itGet Questura credentials for the property’s province via the Polizia di Stato Alloggiati Web portal and submit each guest’s ID within 24h. A manager can do this with written authorisation and their own credentials — omissions carry criminal sanctions (TULPS art. 109).
Collect the imposta di soggiorno (tourist tax).
How to do itRegister with the Comune; collect per guest per night and remit on the local schedule.
Choose your tax regime — cedolare secca.
How to do itOpt for cedolare secca (21% first property, 26% from the second) or ordinary IRPEF in your return. A P.IVA is required from the third property. A commercialista is strongly advised.
0% complete0 / 7
Identify your region's scheme first — everything flows from it.
How to do itRules differ by comunidad autónoma. Find your regional tourism registry and licence type — Catalonia HUT, Andalusia VFT, Valencia, Balearics… Start on the regional tourism authority's website.
Get a habitation certificate and meet technical standards.
How to do itMany regions require a cédula de habitabilidad and minimum standards before licensing. Arrange via a local técnico/architect if you don’t have one.
Get community-of-owners approval if your building requires it.
How to do itSince 2025 many buildings need a community vote (often 60%) to allow tourist lets. Obtain and keep the written authorisation from the comunidad de propietarios.
Apply for the regional tourist licence.
How to do itRegister with the regional tourism registry (e.g. the Registre de Turisme de Catalunya for a HUT). This licence is what the platforms and the national registry link to.
Obtain the national single-registry number (NRUA).
How to do itRegister via the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (~€27) with a digital certificate, linking your regional licence and cadastral reference. Important: in Spain registration is tied to the owner and the land registry — the owner must be the registrant (you assist; you can’t register in your own name as in France).
Display the national number + regional licence on all listings.
How to do itBoth must appear on Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and your own site, or the listing is removed.
Handle tourist tax and income tax.
How to do itRegister for the regional tourist tax where it applies (Catalonia, Balearics…). Residents declare on IRPF; non-resident owners file IRNR via Modelo 210. A gestor is strongly recommended.
Why it's worth it

The cost of getting it wrong

Enforcement stopped being theoretical in 2026. A few real numbers from the past year:

€64M
Fine levied on Airbnb in Spain (Dec 2025) for advertising unlicensed listings.
€150K
Fine for a single Paris owner with an unregistered listing (Feb 2026).
20–30%
Share of Florence listings that disappeared once its ID-code went live.