The words in the paperwork, explained
The terms that appear in the licence, on the platforms and at the tax office, one sentence each.
VFT / VUT
Vivienda con Fines Turísticos (the name in the 2016 Andalusian decree) and Vivienda de Uso Turístico (the name since 2024). Same thing: a home on residential land rented regularly to tourists. Its code looks like VFT/MA/00000 or VUT/MA/00000.
RTA (Andalusian Tourism Registry)
The Junta de Andalucía registry where tourist dwellings are registered by responsible declaration. Registration is free and mandatory before advertising.
Responsible declaration
The document with which the holder states, under their own responsibility, that the home meets the requirements. In Andalusia it is procedure 6631; its filing receipt allows you to start renting.
Operator (titular de la explotación)
Whoever provides the accommodation service and answers to the tourism authority: the owner if managing directly, or the manager if they look after guests, clean and hand over keys.
Change of holder (procedure 7267)
The notice to the Junta when the operator of an already-registered home changes (a manager comes in, it is sold, inherited). The home's code does not change.
NRUA
The national single rental registration number, created in 2024 and annulled by the Supreme Court in May 2026. No longer mandatory.
SES.Hospedajes
The Interior Ministry platform where the details of travellers over 14 are reported within 24 hours of arrival.
Three fifths (3/5)
The majority required by the Horizontal Property Act since April 2025 to authorise tourist use of a home: three fifths of owners representing three fifths of the shares.
Guest place (plaza)
Each person who can be accommodated. Calculated at 14 m² built per guest, with caps per bedroom and per bathrooms.
Operating periods
The parts of the year in which the home is offered to tourists. Within them you must provide the service; outside them you cannot rent.
Clandestine offer
Advertising or renting a home without being registered or outside the declared periods. Penalised under the Andalusian Tourism Act.
Income from real estate capital
How an individual declares rental income in Spanish income tax: income minus the expenses of the rented days.
Imputed income
What the tax office makes you declare for the days the flat is not rented: 1.1 % or 2 % of the cadastral value, pro-rated.
Reverse charge
The VAT rule by which whoever receives a service from a company in another EU country declares the VAT in their own country. Until 2022 it applied to Booking and Airbnb commissions; since 1 January 2023 it no longer does: the platform charges you 21 % on its invoice and declares it itself.
Form 210
The non-resident income tax return with which an owner living outside Spain declares the rental and the imputed income.
DAC7 / form 238
The EU directive under which platforms report to the tax office, every January, the income and details of each host for the previous year.
ADR (average nightly rate)
The average charged per night sold. On the Costa del Sol, in a well-managed flat, €85 in 2026, from €48 in January to €164 in August.
Occupancy
The percentage of nights in the year the flat is rented. Together with the ADR it determines revenue: ADR × 365 × occupancy.
Minimum stay
The minimum number of nights accepted per booking. It rises in high season so as not to break up weeks, and avoids weekend parties.
Channel manager
Software that keeps calendar and prices in one place and synchronises them with all portals to avoid double bookings.
Online check-in
A form the guest fills in before arrival with their details and ID, used for traveller registration and to send the entry instructions.
Non-refundable rate
A discounted price charged at booking and not refunded if the guest cancels. It protects high-season dates.
Full management
A manager's complete service: licence, listings, prices, guests, keys, cleaning, registration, maintenance, collection and statement, in exchange for a percentage of what the owner receives.
Statement (liquidación)
The monthly document in which the manager details to the owner each booking, what the portal charged, cleaning, expenses, their commission and the net amount transferred.