Can I change the number of places after getting the licence? Which procedure it is, what limits apply and what happens if you advertise more

Short answer: yes, you can increase or reduce the places or bedrooms of a home that is already registered, but not with the notification form. It is a new responsible declaration (the Junta's procedure 6631) in which you tick the box «Modificación de las bases de la inscripción» (modification of the basis of registration) and fill in the home's annex again. It is done online with a digital certificate, it is free and the rules give 15 days to notify the change. When you increase places you have to meet today's limits: 14 built m² per place, enough bathrooms, a maximum of 4 per bedroom and equipment for everyone. The prudent thing is to file it before advertising the new places.

Why doesn't the notification form work?

Because capacity is one of the details on which the home was registered. The responsible declaration has to include the «maximum accommodation capacity» (art. 9.1.a of Decree 28/2016), and the Tourism Register regulation says that changing those basic conditions is notified «by means of the corresponding responsible declaration» (art. 14.1 of Decree 143/2014). The notification (comunicación, procedure 7267) is only for details that do not affect that basis.

The Junta's own page separates them like this:

Bathrooms do not have their own box in the home's annex (only rooms and places). They matter because they limit the places you can declare.

How is the modification filed?

1. Go into the Junta's virtual office with a digital certificate: the procedure is «online only».
2. Open the responsible declaration (procedure 6631), the same one as for registering.
3. In section 4 «Trámite» (procedure), tick «Modificación de las bases de la inscripción en RTA» (modification of the basis of registration in the Tourism Register).
4. Enter your registration number (VUT/MA/…) in the home's details.
5. In the home's annex, write the new figures: total rooms, places in rooms and places in the living room.
6. Sign and submit.

What the official procedure sheet says:

• Deadline: the modification has to be notified «within fifteen days».
• Decision: within 15 days, with positive administrative silence (silencio positivo). «As it is not an authorisation procedure, the activity may begin from the submission of the responsible declaration.»
• Price: none. The Junta says so in its FAQ: «None, it is completely free».

The rules do not make clear whether the 15 days run before or after the change. Our recommendation: file the declaration before advertising or accommodating the new places. That way there is never a day when your listings say one thing and the Register another.

What limits do I have for increasing places?

The same as for a new home. The lowest result of all of them is the one that applies:

And the equipment has to grow with the places (annex to the decree): beds of at least 80×190 cm (single) or 135×190 cm (double), an 18 cm mattress, one hand towel and one bath towel per person, kitchen utensils «suited to the accommodation capacity» and «a wardrobe or space for clothes for every four places». The square-metre calculation, with its table, is in How many people can your flat sleep, and the full list in Requirements for the flat.

A practical example

You have a flat of 80 m² built according to the Cadastre, with two double bedrooms and one bathroom, registered for 4 places. You want to put a sofa bed in the living room and advertise it for 6.

• Square metres: 80 ÷ 14 = 5.7. You stay at 5 places, not 6.
• Bathrooms: with 5 places one is enough. With 6 you would need a second full bathroom, which you do not have.
• Bedrooms and living room: 2 + 2 in the bedrooms and 1 on the sofa bed meet the rules.

Result: you can go from 4 to 5 places, with the responsible declaration of modification, one more hand towel and one more bath towel, and bed linen for the sofa bed. For 6 you are short of square metres and a bathroom.

Do I have to meet today's requirements, even if I registered earlier?

Yes. In the responsible declaration you sign that you meet «the requirements laid down in the tourism regulations in force» and you undertake to keep meeting them. In addition, Decree 31/2024 already required all registered homes to adjust their places to the square metres and bathrooms: they had six months, until 22 August 2024, to declare «the corresponding number» (second additional provision). There is no old regime to hold on to when you change capacity.

What if I want to reduce places?

That is also notified, the same way: the Junta includes «increase or reduction of bedrooms/places» in responsible declaration 6631. And the decree requires the holder to notify «any modification» in the conditions of the home (art. 4.2 of Decree 28/2016).

Do I need a new agreement from the owners' association?

The law does not make it clear. Article 17.12 of the Horizontal Property Act talks about the agreement that «approves, limits, conditions or prohibits» the tourist activity, not the number of places. We have not found any rule that requires a new vote to increase places.

Two important nuances:

• If your owners' association's agreement set conditions (for example, a maximum number of people), those conditions bind you.
• In the responsible declaration you state again that the home is «expressly authorised by the owners' association» (art. 9.1.g of Decree 28/2016), and the Junta asks for the owners' association certificate with its declarations. Keep it to hand.

The basics on the owners' association are in Can my owners' association ban it?.

What if I need building work to increase places?

That is a separate municipal procedure, which does not replace the declaration to the Junta. Putting up a partition to create a bedroom or adding a bathroom is building work: in Andalusia, work on existing buildings that does not increase the number of homes generally goes through a responsible declaration to the town hall (art. 138.1.b of Law 7/2021, LISTA), and work that needs a technical project goes through a licence. Ask at your town hall before you start. Putting in a sofa bed or a bunk bed is not building work.

My flat is in Málaga city: can I increase places?

It is not clear. Since 23 August 2025 Málaga has suspended «new tourist homes», but the Andalusian rule it relies on (art. 6.2 of Decree-law 1/2025) allows suspending, in general, «responsible declarations for tourist homes», and increasing places is a responsible declaration. No official text mentions increases. Before filing it, call the Junta: 900 10 15 70, Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 14:00. The details of the suspension are in What if my municipality has a moratorium?.

What happens if I advertise or accommodate more places than registered?

It can be a serious offence under Law 13/2011 on Tourism in Andalusia, in two ways:

• Art. 71.20: altering capacity «by installing beds, or admitting users» when it differs from what was declared and exceeds the limits in the regulation.
• Art. 71.11: «untruthful, ambiguous or misleading advertising». A listing for 6 for a home registered for 4 is exactly that.

Serious offences are punished with a fine of €2,001 to €18,000 (art. 78.2); the exact amount is set by the authority. In addition, the decree prohibits contracting «places that cannot be catered for» (art. 2.6). We explain it in What fines can I get?.

So when you file the modification, update the capacity on Booking, Airbnb and the other platforms. If you reduce places, do it the same day.

What we do

When an owner wants to gain a place, we first do the sums on square metres and bathrooms with the Cadastre record, and we check beds, towels and wardrobes. Then we file the declaration and, with the receipt in hand, we change the listings.