AlteaReviewed on 11 November 2026

Tourist licence in Altea: where you can and can't get one in 2026

In short

New tourist rentals can still be registered in Altea, but only in part of the municipality. The 2026 by-law closes 15 zones, including the old town, the seafront, Cap Negret and Mascarat Norte, and leaves 34 open, such as Altea la Vella, Garganes and the hillside residential areas. Across the whole municipality there is a maximum of 12 tourist rentals per 100 homes.

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We don't process the licence for you: we help you get it clear. This guide is for information only and the rules change often, so always check the latest with your town hall and with Turisme Comunitat Valenciana.

What Altea has approved

The by-law is called Ordenanza Complementaria 4-8 del Plan General (a supplementary by-law to the general plan). It was approved at the full council meeting of 4 June 2026 and its approval became final at the end of that month, after the favourable report from the coastal authority (Costas). Its text was published in the provincial official bulletin of Alicante (BOP) no. 121 of 1 July 2026, and a second notice, in no. 153 of 14 August, confirmed its entry in the regional planning register. It is in force.

It divides residential urban land into zones and subzones. It gives each one a vulnerability level based on how many tourist rentals it already has, how many residents live there all year round and how dense it is. Whether new tourist rentals are allowed depends on that level.

It replaces the two earlier suspensions: the one from January 2024, which stopped the reports across the whole municipality, and the one from July 2025, which affected the zones that are closed today.

Zones where new tourist rentals are no longer allowed

There are 15, according to annex II of the by-law:

Because they are vulnerable zones: the Núcleo Histórico Tradicional de Altea (the old town), Clot de Mingot, Piteres, Carrer La Mar, Avenida y Paseo Marítimo, Fachada Marítima and Nueva Fachada. The only exception is fully restoring a building of traditional architecture that had stopped serving as a home, and only if it is in a traditional historic centre (núcleo histórico tradicional) or the building itself is listed in the heritage catalogue.
Because they already have more than 8 tourist rentals per 100 properties: the D1 sector (polígono) of Rotes-San Chuchim, Mascarat Norte, Cap Negret and Cap Negret Norte.
Because they already have more than 4 per 100: Llanos del Castillo, Avenida de la Nucía, Altea NUH1 (one part of the old-town extension) and the Núcleo de L'Olla - Cap Negret.

The town hall can update those ratios whenever it likes, by publishing them on its website. If the ratio falls, a zone that is closed for exceeding its cap could open again; and an open one can fill up.

Zones where new tourist rentals are allowed

Altea la Vella: its historic centre, its extension (subzones NUH1 and NUH2) and Altea la Vella Carretera.
Hillside residential areas: Santa Clara, El Paradiso, Jardín de Alhama, Alhama Candela, Sierra Altea Golf, Sierra Altea I and II, Urlisa I, II and III, La Mallá, Mimosas and Galera de las Palmeras.
Tosal del Molar, Urbanización La Olla, Olla Carretera, Montahud, the Rotes-San Chuchim urbanización (the residential area, which is not the D1 sector), Carretera de la Nucía, San Jerónimo and Foieta.
With a cap: Garganes, as long as it does not go over 8 tourist rentals per 100 properties, and Camino de la Huerta and Altea NUH2 (the other part of the old-town extension), as long as they do not go over 4.
Only if the property is outside the coastal protection zone: Mascarat Sur, Galera Baja y del Mar, Olla Costa, Marimontaña I, Villa Gadea and Pla de Albes. The last of these also has the cap of 8, and it is almost there: 7.7 in May 2025.

The by-law does not use commercial names, such as Altea Hills. To find out which subzone your home is in, look at the maps in annex III or ask the planning department (Urbanismo), giving the cadastral reference.

What applies to the whole of Altea

Municipal maximum: 12 tourist rentals per 100 homes. It is a cap for the whole municipality, not for each zone.
The home must have its occupancy licence or an equivalent document: commercial premises that are not a home do not qualify.
They are not allowed in the industrial zone (Zona 7) or, apart from the exception in the Coastal Act (Ley de Costas), in buildings inside the coastal protection zone.
The by-law makes no distinction between flats, terraced houses and villas: what counts is the zone.
The by-law regulates urban land. If your home is on non-developable land, ask the planning department: the Generalitat (the Valencian regional government) also requires a declaration of community interest (declaración de interés comunitario), or an exemption from it.

How to apply for the town-hall report in Altea

You apply for the town-planning compatibility report at Altea town hall, through its registry (Registro de Entrada), using the town hall's standard form. You need to provide the cadastral reference, a land registry extract (nota simple) or the title deed, proof of payment of the fee and the home's valid occupancy document.

The time limit for issuing it is one month from the day the application reaches the registry. The published fees by-law (ordenanza fiscal) sets €100 for the town-planning compatibility certificate; check with the town hall that this is the fee that applies to tourist rentals.

Once you have a favourable report, you submit the responsible declaration to the Tourism Register of the Valencia region, which registers the home and gives it its number. If the home is in a building with an owners' community, you first need its express agreement. This part is the same throughout the Valencia region.

Guide to the tourist licence in the Valencia region →

If your home in Altea is already registered

The by-law regulates new tourist rentals. It does not mention those that are already registered or their renewal, although they do count towards their zone's ratio.

Registration lasts 5 years and, to renew it, you need a new, favourable town-hall report. Homes registered before 8 August 2024 start coming up for renewal in August 2029. It has not been made clear what will happen then to homes in the closed zones: do not take anything for granted either way.

If you buy a registered home, the registration does not transfer to you: you need a new declaration and a new town-hall report, and the town hall issues its report under the by-law in force. In a closed zone, an unfavourable report is to be expected: check before you buy. If you inherit it, a declaration of change is enough.

Turisme (the regional tourism authority) is reviewing the homes registered after the 2018 tourism law that have no town-hall report on file. If you receive an electronic notice from it, you have 10 working days to provide the report.

How many tourist rentals there are in Altea

1,552 tourist rentals registered in the Tourism Register, with 7,878 guest places (Generalitat open data, 9 November 2026). Of these, 50 were registered in 2026.
1,002 homes listed on the big platforms, 5.47% of all homes in Altea (INE, Spain's statistics institute, May 2026).
1,523 tourist rentals out of 15,471 residential properties on the urban land the by-law regulates: 9.8 per 100 (annex to the by-law, May 2025).

The figures do not match because they measure different things: the register counts registrations, INE counts listings on the platforms, and the by-law only covers residential urban land.

Tourist licence in Altea: common questions

Can I get a tourist licence for a flat in Altea's old town?

No. The Núcleo Histórico Tradicional (the old town) is a vulnerable zone and does not allow new tourist rentals. The only exception is the full restoration of a building of traditional architecture that had stopped serving as a home, and only if it is in a traditional historic centre (núcleo histórico tradicional) or the building itself is listed in the heritage catalogue.

What about Mascarat or Cap Negret?

In Mascarat Norte, Cap Negret and Cap Negret Norte, no: they are over the cap of 8 tourist rentals per 100 properties. In Mascarat Sur, yes, provided the property is outside the coastal protection zone.

Is it allowed in Altea's hillside residential areas?

Yes. Santa Clara, El Paradiso, Jardín de Alhama, Alhama Candela, Sierra Altea Golf, Sierra Altea I and II, Urlisa I, II and III, La Mallá, Mimosas and Galera de las Palmeras are low-vulnerability zones and allow new tourist rentals, within the municipal maximum of 12 per 100 homes.

If I buy a home with a tourist licence in Altea, do I keep it?

It does not transfer automatically. Since 8 August 2024, anyone buying a tourist rental needs a new declaration and a new town-hall report, and the report is issued under today's by-law. If the home is in one of the 15 closed zones, check with the town hall before you sign.

How long does the compatibility report take in Altea, and how much does it cost?

The time limit is one month from the day the application reaches the registry. The published fees by-law sets €100 for the town-planning compatibility certificate; confirm the amount with the town hall. Registration in the Tourism Register afterwards is free.

Has Altea stopped granting tourist licences?

No. Up to 9 November, 50 tourist rentals were registered in Altea in 2026. What has changed is where: only in the zones the by-law leaves open.

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