In short
Yes. A non-resident can finance a Spanish property to let, typically for 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, so plan a 30–40% deposit plus taxes and costs. Lenders size the loan on your current income, not the rent you expect. Holiday lets also need a regional tourist licence and, since April 2025, community approval.
The short answer
Yes, a non-resident can finance a Spanish property to let out. Lenders that work with non-residents typically lend 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, so plan a 30–40% deposit plus taxes and costs.
Two things surprise most buyers. The lender sizes the loan on the income you already have, not on the rent you expect. And whether you may let to tourists depends on the region, the town hall and, since April 2025, your neighbours. This guide covers the mortgage, the three ways to let a home in Spain, the licence rules on the Mediterranean coast and the tax on the rent. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Can a non-resident get a buy-to-let mortgage in Spain?
Yes. Spain has no separate buy-to-let product of the kind UK and Irish buyers know. A property bought to let is financed with an ordinary residential mortgage and assessed like a second home:
- financing of typically 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, against up to 80% for a resident buying a main home;
- a usual maximum term of 20–25 years;
- all your debt payments, including the mortgage you already have at home, within about 30–35% of net income;
- six to ten weeks from a complete file to the notary.
Tell the lender from the start that you plan to let the property. The stated purpose must match the insurance, the documents and what you do afterwards. Our guide to second-home mortgages explains why lenders are more conservative with homes you will not live in.
Why do Spanish lenders ignore the rent you expect?
In the UK, a buy-to-let mortgage is usually sized on the expected rent. Spanish lenders work the other way round. Article 11 of Law 5/2019 requires them to assess your employment, current income, savings, fixed expenses and existing commitments before lending. A rent that does not exist yet is the weakest part of that picture, and in practice most lenders give it little or no weight.
| What the lender counts | What it ignores or discounts |
|---|---|
| Salary, pension or business profit, evidenced by tax returns | An agent’s rental estimate or occupancy forecast |
| Rent you already receive and declare, often only in part | Holiday-let income on a property with no licence yet |
| Savings left after the purchase | Expected growth in the property’s value |
| Your mortgages and loans, at home and in Spain | Income from a let the community or town hall may not allow |
Worked example: when income sets the limit
Illustrative only, not a client: a couple living in the UK earns the equivalent of €6,000 a month net, pays €1,300 a month on their UK mortgage and wants a €250,000 flat on the coast that could let for €1,000 a month. With an illustrative fixed rate of 3.5% over 25 years, not an offer:
| Item | Lender applying 30% | Lender applying 35% |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum for all debt payments | €1,800 | €2,100 |
| Existing UK mortgage | −€1,300 | −€1,300 |
| Room for the Spanish payment | €500 | €800 |
| Loan that payment supports | about €99,900 | about €159,800 |
| As a share of €250,000 | about 40% | about 64% |
| Expected rent of €1,000 a month | Not counted | Not counted |
The 60–70% ceiling would allow €150,000–€175,000, but here income, not the deposit, sets the limit. With the stricter lender, the couple would need about €150,000 of their own money before taxes and costs. Test your own figures in the Spanish mortgage calculator, add the purchase taxes with the purchase costs calculator, and read our guide to LTV and DTI for how both ratios work.
Long-term, temporary or holiday let: which one?
Spanish law distinguishes three kinds of letting:
| Long-term let | Temporary let | Holiday let | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant | Lives there as their home | Stays for a season or a limited period, not as their permanent home | Tourist |
| Length | Minimum 5 years at the tenant’s option (7 if the landlord is a company) | As agreed in the contract | Short stays, as set by regional rules |
| Rules | Urban Leases Act, article 2 | Urban Leases Act, article 3 | Regional tourism law and town hall |
| Tourist licence | No | No | Yes |
The Urban Leases Act classes a let by its main purpose: when it is to meet the tenant’s permanent need for a home, it is a long-term let (article 2). In areas declared stressed housing markets, the rent on a new long-term contract cannot exceed the last rent of the previous five years, updated (article 17.6 of the Urban Leases Act).
Royal Decree-law 26/2026 would have drawn a fixed 31-day line between temporary and holiday lets and added VAT and IBI changes. It applied from 1 October 2026, but Congress voted to repeal it on 2 October, under article 86 of the Constitution, so those changes no longer apply. Housing rules are changing quickly: ask your lawyer to confirm the current position before you sign.
Do you need a tourist licence in Spain?
There is no national tourist licence. Each region regulates holiday lets under its tourism law, usually through a regional tourism register, and town halls decide through planning where tourist use is allowed. Neither the lender nor the valuer checks this for you. Three examples from the Mediterranean coast:
- Catalonia. Under Decree-law 3/2023, tourist use needs a prior planning licence from the town hall in the 262 municipalities the decree-law lists, including Barcelona, Sitges, Tarragona, Salou and Cambrils. The licence lasts five years, renewable only where local planning allows. Flats already registered must obtain it within five years, by November 2028, or stop. The Constitutional Court upheld the decree-law in March 2025.
- Valencian Community. A tourist dwelling must be let as a whole, for stays of up to 10 days per guest, and needs a favourable municipal planning-compatibility report before it can enter the regional tourism register. Registration lasts five years; renewing it requires a new report.
- Andalusia. Tourist dwellings are entered in the Andalusian tourism register, and since 2024 town halls can limit their number per building, area or zone.
Rules change quickly, sometimes street by street. Have your lawyer confirm in writing that the specific address can be registered before you reserve. Our areas guide compares the coastal towns.
Can your neighbours stop a holiday let?
Yes, for new ones. Organic Law 1/2025 amended the Horizontal Property Act from 3 April 2025. An owner who wants to start a tourist let now needs the community of owners’ express prior approval. Approving, limiting or prohibiting tourist lets requires the vote of three-fifths of all owners, who must also hold three-fifths of the participation shares. The same majority can raise that flat’s share of community charges by up to 20%.
These agreements are not retroactive, and owners who were already letting under the tourism rules before 3 April 2025 may continue. If you buy a flat with an existing tourist registration, your lawyer should check whether it can pass to you, and read the community statutes and recent minutes.
What happened to the national rental register?
Royal Decree 1312/2024 created a national register for short-term lets through the Land Registry, applied from 1 July 2025. The Supreme Court annulled that register in judgments of May and June 2026, because the State lacked competence to create it. The digital single window through which platforms report data to the authorities remains. What counts today is your regional tourism registration and the town hall’s rules.
How is rental income taxed for a non-resident?
Spain taxes the rent every year through non-resident income tax. Where you live decides the rate and whether you can deduct expenses. An illustration with €12,000 of rent and €4,000 of provable expenses:
| Irish or other EU resident | UK resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 19% | 24% |
| Expenses directly linked to the rent | Deductible | Not deductible |
| Taxable amount | €8,000 | €12,000 |
| Spanish tax | €1,520 | €2,880 |
The return is form 210. From the 2026 rent onwards, a return with tax to pay is due from 1 to 20 April of the following year; for rent declared separately, the change starts with the last quarter of 2026. The imputed-income rule applies to the days the property stands empty.
Our guide to non-resident taxes after buying covers the rest, and UK residents should also read our guide for UK buyers after Brexit.
Checklist before you reserve
- I have modelled 60–70% financing and checked that my income supports the payment without the rent.
- I have counted taxes and costs on top of the deposit.
- I have chosen between a long-term, temporary or holiday let and know its rules.
- For a holiday let, my lawyer has confirmed that the regional register and the town hall’s planning allow it at this address.
- I have the community statutes and minutes, and know whether approval exists or the flat was registered before 3 April 2025.
- I know whether I pay 19% or 24% on the rent, and a tax adviser at home has confirmed how it is taxed there.
- My lawyer has reviewed the financing condition in the deposit agreement.
How RCG coordinates it
RCG Finance is a real-estate credit intermediary registered with the Bank of Spain under number E760, with an office in Salou. We size the loan on the income lenders actually count, prepare your file once and present it to the lenders that finance non-residents. Our team attends the notary signing in person, and we only charge if we get your mortgage.
Our partner lawyer checks the licence position, the community rules and the contracts. We do not give legal or tax advice.
What to do next
Start with the non-resident mortgage checklist, then size the loan and the cash with the calculators above. When the numbers work, our non-resident mortgage service takes your file to the right lenders.
Sources and review
Prepared by the RCG Finance editorial team (RCG 2026 S.L., Bank of Spain register of credit intermediaries no. E760) and reviewed by Rafael, founder of RCG Finance and former debt and M&A advisor at KPMG and PwC, under our editorial standards. Last source review: 4 October 2026.
- Spanish Official Gazette — Law 5/2019 on real-estate credit, article 11 (creditworthiness)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Urban Leases Act 29/1994 (consolidated)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Congress resolution of 2 October 2026 repealing Royal Decree-law 26/2026
- Spanish Official Gazette — Spanish Constitution, article 86 (ratification of decree-laws)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Catalan Decree-law 3/2023 on tourist-use dwellings
- Spanish Official Gazette — Constitutional Court judgment 64/2025 on Catalan Decree-law 3/2023
- Spanish Official Gazette — Valencian Law 15/2018 on tourism, article 65 (consolidated)
- Official Gazette of Andalusia — Decree 31/2024 on tourist-use dwellings
- Spanish Official Gazette — Organic Law 1/2025, final provision four (Horizontal Property Act)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Horizontal Property Act, articles 7.3 and 17.12 (consolidated)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Royal Decree 1312/2024 (consolidated, with the annulled provisions)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Supreme Court judgment of 19 May 2026 annulling the single rental register
- Spanish Official Gazette — Supreme Court judgment of 21 May 2026 on the single rental register
- Spanish Tax Agency — Income from rented property (non-residents)
- Spanish Tax Agency — Form 210 filing deadlines after Order HAC/623/2026
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a buy-to-let mortgage in Spain as a non-resident?
Yes. Spain has no separate buy-to-let product, but lenders that work with non-residents finance homes bought to let with an ordinary residential mortgage, typically for 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation. Plan a 30–40% deposit plus taxes and costs. Approval is never guaranteed.
Do Spanish banks count rental income for a mortgage?
Rarely the rent you expect. Spanish lenders assess your current income, savings and existing debts, and give little or no weight to a rental forecast. Rent you already receive and declare on your tax returns may count, often only in part.
Do I need a tourist licence to rent out my property in Spain?
For holiday lets, yes. There is no national licence: each region requires registration under its tourism law, and town halls decide through planning where tourist use is allowed. Long-term and temporary lets do not need a tourist licence.
Can my community of owners stop me renting to tourists?
For new holiday lets, yes. Since 3 April 2025, an owner needs the community’s express prior approval, decided by three-fifths of all owners holding three-fifths of the shares. Owners already letting under the tourism rules before that date may continue.
How much tax does a non-resident pay on rental income in Spain?
19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, who can deduct expenses directly linked to the rent; 24% on the gross rent for everyone else, including UK residents. The return is form 210.
