If you're considering a Marbella apartment as a rental investment, the single most consequential piece of due diligence isn't the property itself. It's the building's community-of-owners register — and specifically whether the community has already voted on short-term rental, and how.
This is the question that catches more would-be Marbella buyers than any other. We've seen owners arrive at our discovery call having completed purchases of beautiful apartments they cannot legally rent out. The reason is almost always the same: the community had voted to prohibit short-term rental — sometimes years ago — and the buyer or buyer's agent didn't check.
This piece walks through what's actually happening in Marbella's community votes, how to check before you buy, and which Marbella areas are most affected.
The legal frame
Spain's Ley de Propiedad Horizontal was amended in 2019 to allow communities of owners to limit or prohibit short-term tourist rental in their buildings via a 3/5 majority vote. In April 2025 a further amendment made this 3/5 vote mandatory for new VUT licence applications in community buildings. Existing licences granted before April 2025 are grandfathered and continue under the previous regime. This last point is critical and often misunderstood.
Separately, Royal Decree 1312/2024 introduced the national NRUA registration, mandatory from July 2025. NRUA is a different thing from the community vote — it's a national registration number that every legal short-term rental needs alongside its regional VUT licence.
The practical effect for a Marbella buyer:
- If your target Marbella building already had a VUT in place before April 2025, that licence remains valid regardless of any subsequent community vote.
- If you want to apply for a new VUT in a community building, you need a 3/5 majority of owners voting in favour.
- If the community has already voted against short-term rental — at any point since 2019 — that decision stands and a new vote in favour is required.
In Marbella this last point is the killer. Many premium developments held early-adopter community votes between 2019 and 2024 and concluded that short-term rental damaged their long-term character. Reversing those votes is harder than passing them in the first place.
Areas to expect more or less restriction
Marbella isn't uniform. From the patterns we see at discovery calls and in conversations with local agents:
Puerto Banús. Mixed picture. Many apartment buildings inside the marina complex have grandfathered VUTs (early adopters who registered before 2020). Some buildings have voted to permit short-term rental on the basis that the marina's commercial character supports it. New applications still face community votes; some buildings have prohibited new licences while keeping existing ones.
Golden Mile. The most restricted area in our experience. Premium beach-front developments along the Golden Mile have generally been the first to vote against new short-term rentals. Owners who hold pre-2025 grandfathered licences continue. New buyers in many of these buildings cannot rent.
Nueva Andalucía. More permissive than the Golden Mile. Many of the golf-valley urbanisations were originally designed with rental in mind and remain rental-friendly. Some specific blocks have voted against new licences but the majority hold open. Generally, the best Marbella sub-market for new investors today.
Sierra Blanca. Largely a villa market, so individual property rather than community vote. Villas with their own land and gates can typically pursue VUT independently. The handful of gated villa-communities have varied stances — verify per-community.
San Pedro de Alcántara. More permissive than Marbella town. Town-centre apartment buildings broadly allow short-term rental. New Golden Mile West (technically Estepona-side) is also more permissive than the eastern Golden Mile.
How to check before you buy
Three steps, in order:
1. Request the most recent five years of community minutes through your property lawyer or the seller's representative. This is your right under the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal and any reputable seller will provide them.
2. Look for two specific things in those minutes:
- Any vote on uso turístico or alquiler de corta duración or viviendas con fines turísticos
- Any community fee adjustment specifically targeted at short-term rentals (which sometimes precedes a vote against)
3. Check the property's existing VUT status at the Junta de Andalucía Registro de Turismo. If a VUT already exists, it's grandfathered. If not, you'll need a new vote.
We do all of this as standard at the discovery call before recommending we take on management of a Marbella property. If we find a community-vote prohibition we couldn't see in the public record, we'll flag it before you commit.
What we'd recommend right now
For owners targeting Marbella as a rental investment, the highest-probability path is:
- Pre-2025 grandfathered VUT licences — these continue and avoid the new community-vote regime entirely. Properties already operating as legal short-term rentals before April 2025 are the cleanest acquisitions, and increasingly priced at a premium that reflects the value of the licence.
- Nueva Andalucía golf-valley apartments in confirmed rental-permissive communities — generally the best risk-adjusted entry point in Marbella for new rental investors today.
- Villas in Sierra Blanca, Altos de los Monteros, or independent properties without communities of owners — these avoid community-vote risk entirely.
Where we'd urge caution:
- Buildings on the Golden Mile or in central Marbella town where you haven't verified the community's vote history
- Newer developments where a community vote may not yet have been held but where developer marketing materials hint at long-term residential intent
What to do if you're at any stage of considering a Marbella purchase
- Get the property's community minutes for the last five years before you make a formal offer.
- Verify the VUT status at the Junta de Andalucía registry.
- Talk to us at the discovery call. If we'd recommend against the purchase, we'll say so and explain why.
Marbella works as a rental market — but only for properties on the right side of the legal floor. The discovery call is the cheapest 30 minutes you'll spend on any potential acquisition.
— Maarten Glaser, founder, Glaser Group
