Can I turn a social housing (VPO) flat into a tourist home? What Andalusian law says and when it stops being protected

Short answer: no. While its protection scheme lasts, a protected home (VPO, Spain's officially protected social housing) cannot be a tourist home, either whole or by rooms. Two rules say so: the Andalusian decree on tourist homes (art. 1.3.a of Decree 28/2016) and the Andalusian Housing Act 5/2025, in force since 24 January 2026, which expressly bans its tourist use (art. 72.1.e) and considers that renting it to tourists «is especially serious» when it comes to fines (art. 117.4). It is only possible once the protection has ended (because its period has run out) or the Junta has declassified it.

What exactly do the rules say?

• Decree 28/2016, art. 1.3.a: «The following may not be tourist homes: a) Homes subject to a public protection scheme, which may not be used for that purpose either whole or by rooms».
• When registering the home with the Junta you declare, among other things, «that the home is not subject to any public protection scheme or that it has been declassified» (art. 9.1.d, as worded by Decree-law 1/2025). If it is not true, the registration is cancelled.
• Law 5/2025, art. 55.3: protected homes «must be used as a habitual and permanent residence […] and may under no circumstances be used as a second home or for any other unauthorised use».
• Law 5/2025, art. 72.1.e: «Prohibition on using a protected home for tourist use, whether whole or by rooms».

The Junta sums it up in its FAQ: they cannot be tourist homes because they «must be used as a habitual and permanent home».

If you have read that the applicable law is Law 13/2005: that law has been repealed since 24 January 2026 and replaced by Law 5/2025.

What is the fine?

Not using a VPO as a habitual and permanent home is a serious offence under Law 5/2025 (art. 115.3.t), with a fine of €3,001 to €25,000 (art. 117.1). And the law adds that, when the protected home is rented for tourist use, it is considered especially serious «for the purposes of imposing the penalty in its medium or upper band» (art. 117.4). The authorities set the specific amounts case by case. On top of that comes the cancellation of the tourist registration.

How do I know if my flat is a VPO?

• Land registry extract («nota simple») from the Property Register: the protection appears as a marginal note, because the law requires it to be recorded (art. 55.2 of Law 5/2025). It costs about €10 online.
• Purchase deed: it usually mentions the classification, the scheme and the price limits.
• If in doubt, the Junta's Development and Housing office in your province can tell you the classification and its period.

Many VPOs from the 1980s and 1990s are no longer protected because their period has ended, but an old note may still appear in the land registry extract. You need to check the classification date and the period.

When does it stop being protected?

In two ways:

1. With the passage of time. Each classification has a period, set by the housing plan of its time and stated in the classification (art. 57.1). On its website the Junta gives periods of 15, 10 and 7 years depending on the scheme (special, general and limited price); old VPOs, from national schemes, have their own periods and each case has to be checked. When it is reached, the marginal note expires in the Register (art. 57.3) and the home becomes free.
2. By declassification. It is a Junta procedure (procedure 867), at the owner's request, which requires repaying the public aid received (art. 85.1). But it is not granted for homes developed by the authorities with public funds nor, in general, for those of private developers, which have to see out the protection period (arts. 85.2 and 85.3), unless the housing plan says otherwise. If the Junta does not reply within three months, the application is deemed refused.

Once free of protection, the home is like any other: you need the owners' association's agreement, the municipality has to allow it and the usual requirements apply (Can I rent my flat to tourists?).

What about renting it seasonally or to students?

Not that either, while it is protected: the law requires it to be the habitual and permanent residence of whoever lives in it, and it cannot be a second home or have «any other unauthorised use» (art. 55.3). In addition, a VPO left empty for more than three months in a calendar year is considered unoccupied. If you no longer live in it, what the law provides for is selling it or renting it to someone else who will have it as their habitual home, at the prices and with the requirements of its scheme.

Summary

If you are unsure whether your flat is still protected, send us the land registry extract and we will look at it with you before you spend anything.