BenidormReviewed on 11 November 2026

Tourist licence in Benidorm: what the town hall asks for in 2026

In short

You can apply in Benidorm: there is no specific by-law on tourist rentals, no quotas by zone and no moratorium on record. What applies is the 1990 general plan, with a criterion approved at the full council meeting in October 2025: the home has to meet the rules for residential use and those for temporary accommodation at the same time. In practice, what counts is the zone, the usable floor area (at least 38 m²) and the parking.

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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.

Which rules apply in Benidorm

Benidorm has not approved a by-law on tourist rentals. It applies its 1990 general plan and, since 2025, 'Interpretación n.º 9' of that plan (an official interpretation), which was approved unanimously at the full council meeting of 27 October 2025 and published in the provincial official bulletin of Alicante (BOP) no. 211 of 5 November 2025.

It says that a tourist rental is a residential use put to tourist use, and that the two uses, residential and temporary accommodation (alojamiento temporal), have to be compatible in the same property. You always have to prove the home's floor area and, depending on the year the building was built, its facilities, such as parking.

There is no record of any suspension of reports: in the provincial bulletins from September 2025 to November 2026 there is no other municipal notice about tourist rentals.

What the general plan says in each zone

There are no percentages or quotas. This is what the plan's zone by-laws (ordenanzas) say about temporary accommodation:

Edificación Abierta (free-standing blocks): residential and temporary accommodation are the main uses (usos característicos).
Casco Tradicional (the traditional old town): residential. Temporary accommodation is compatible on the ground floor, on the first floor, on upper floors up to 50% of the building's usable floor area, and in a single-use building (edificio exclusivo), that is, one given over entirely to that use.
Ensanche de Casco (the old-town extension) and Colonia Madrid: residential. Temporary accommodation: in a single-use building and, in some subzones, on the ground floor.
Vivienda Agrupada (grouped housing): only residential use is allowed.
Vivienda Unifamiliar (single-family houses): residential. Hotel use: only in one of its subzones and in a single-use building.

The town hall does not publish how it applies these rules to each tourist rental application: the report on your home tells you.

What the town hall looks at in the home

Usable floor area: at least 38 m², which you have to prove in every case.
Parking: the form asks you to describe the garage space linked to the home. Whether it is required depends on the year of the building; the plan requires one space per new home.
Lift: in a building that is not given over entirely to accommodation, if the entrance to the home is more than 8 metres above the building's street entrance. As with parking, ask how this applies to buildings older than the plan.
Ground floors: in Casco Tradicional and Ensanche de Casco, homes are not allowed on the ground floor, except in a single-use building. Even though temporary accommodation is compatible there, a tourist rental has to meet the rules for both uses.

How to apply for the town-hall report in Benidorm

You apply to the business licensing department (Concejalía de Aperturas), through the town hall's online portal (sede electrónica), using form APEM001.1, 'Solicitud de informe de compatibilidad de terciario vivienda turística' (application for a compatibility report for commercial use as a tourist rental).

You attach your tax ID number (NIF), a site plan, a photo of the front of the building, a written description of the home and its garage space, and proof of payment of the fee. On the form you declare that the home meets the regional requirements.

The fee comes from fees by-law (ordenanza fiscal) no. 12: a fixed charge of €60 for planning reports on uses and activities, with a coefficient of 1.1 to 1.4 depending on the street. Confirm the amount when you apply. The time limit is not published.

Guide to the tourist licence in the Valencia region →

If your home in Benidorm is already registered

Interpretación n.º 9 does not mention homes that are already registered or their renewal: it applies to new applications, under the rules in force on the day they are made.

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. If you buy a registered home, you need a new declaration and a new report.

Benidorm is fining tourist rentals that have no authorisation: in July 2026 the town hall reported 70 complaints (denuncias), affecting 196 homes, since mid-2025, and the first fines collected.

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.

What may change

Amendment no. 25 to the general plan is in progress. Its draft includes a parking exemption for changes of use to housing, which will not be available for tourist rentals. It has a favourable environmental report (Valencian official gazette, DOGV no. 10425 of 10 August 2026) and still has to go through the planning stage.

How many tourist rentals there are in Benidorm

5,669 tourist rentals registered in the Tourism Register, with 19,813 guest places (Generalitat open data, 9 November 2026). Of these, 245 were registered in 2026.
2,564 homes listed on the big platforms, 4.24% of all homes in Benidorm (INE, Spain's statistics institute, May 2026).

The figures do not match because they measure different things: the register counts registrations and INE counts listings on the platforms.

Tourist licence in Benidorm: common questions

Is there a moratorium in Benidorm, or are any zones closed to tourist rentals?

There is none on record. Benidorm has no by-law of its own and no quotas: the 1990 general plan decides, together with Interpretación n.º 9, home by home.

Can I register a 35 m² apartment in Benidorm?

Interpretación n.º 9 requires you to prove in every case that the home has the plan's minimum usable floor area, which is 38 m². A 35 m² apartment does not meet it.

Do I need a garage space?

It depends on the year of the building. The form asks you to describe the space linked to the home, and the plan requires one space per new home; for buildings older than the plan, ask the business licensing department (Aperturas).

What about a villa or a terraced house in Benidorm?

It is doubtful. The Vivienda Unifamiliar (single-family houses) and Vivienda Agrupada (grouped housing) zones are residential, and back in 2019 the town hall announced that it had issued unfavourable opinions (dictámenes) in low-density zones. Apply for the report before you count on it.

Does Benidorm only give licences to whole buildings?

We have not found any rule in force that says so. Some zones of the plan only allow temporary accommodation in a single-use building, but in Edificación Abierta it is one of the main uses.

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