The Canary Islands Holiday Rental Association (ASCAV) is demanding the return of almost €22 million paid by property owners following the Supreme Courts decision to scrap Spain’s national holiday rental property register.
The association says thousands of owners were charged registration fees for a system that, according to the court ruling, “should never have existed”.
ASCAV has formally submitted claims to both Spain’s College of Registrars and the Directorate-General for Legal Security and Public Faith, which falls under the Ministry of Justice. The organisation is calling for all fees collected through the now-annulled registration system to be refunded to property owners.
The move follows the recent Supreme Court ruling that cancelled key parts of Royal Decree 1312/2024, which created a single national register for short-term holiday rentals. Judges ruled that the Spanish Government did not have the authority to impose a nationwide registration system that duplicated existing regional tourism registers.
Around 400,000 registrations affected
According to ASCAV estimates, approximately 400,000 registration numbers were issued across Spain before the ruling. The association claims that the combined cost of registration fees and related annual information filings could total nearly €22 million.
ASCAV argues that many owners felt forced to register in order to continue advertising their holiday properties on digital booking platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
Legal battle over regional powers
The ruling has become particularly significant in the Canary Islands, where the regional government had already challenged the decree, arguing that tourism regulation falls under autonomous community powers rather than central government control.
ASCAV says the Supreme Court decision strengthens the Canary Islands’ position and confirms that the State overreached by attempting to create its own national system.
The court did, however, maintain other parts of the legislation, including the digital one-stop information platform and obligations requiring online platforms to share rental data with authorities.
Further legal action being considered
ASCAV says the refund demand could be only the beginning. The association is now studying possible legal action against the State for financial damages allegedly suffered by holiday rental owners.
This could include compensation claims for lost bookings from owners whose properties were reportedly removed from online platforms for not having the registration number that has now been declared invalid.
Ongoing pressure in the Canary Islands
The dispute adds further tension to the already heated debate surrounding holiday lets and VV licences in the Canary Islands, where rising housing costs and pressure on residential areas continue to dominate political discussion.
ASCAV hopes the Supreme Court ruling will now lead not only to the removal of the national register, but also to financial compensation for owners who paid fees under a system the court has now partially overturned.
