Holiday-let licence in the Balearic Islands: requirements, places and the current moratorium

The Balearic Islands probably have the most restrictive holiday-let licensing system in Spain. Unlike other autonomous regions, where meeting the requirements and registering is enough, in the Balearics the number of tourist places is limited by law, and since 2022 a moratorium has in practice blocked the granting of new licences across most of the territory.

The «places» system: the big difference from the rest of Spain

In the Balearics, every holiday-let property (vivienda de uso turístico) uses up places from an overall quota capped by law, which is different for each island. In Mallorca, for example, the overall cap is 430,000 places, split into 115,000 for holiday rentals and 315,000 for hotel places. In practice, this means that to obtain a new licence you normally have to acquire existing places from another owner who gives them up, rather than simply applying for registration from scratch.

Zoning by island

Each island (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) classifies its territory into zones that are suitable and unsuitable for tourist use. Even if your property meets every technical requirement, if it is in an unsuitable zone it cannot be authorised. It is worth checking the specific zoning of the municipality before taking any step.

Technical requirements for the property

• A maximum of 6 bedrooms and 12 places per property.
• At least one bathroom for every 3 places.
• Compliance with the zoning that applies on your island and in your municipality.

The current moratorium and Decree-Law 4/2025

Since 2022, the Balearic Government (Govern balear) has kept a moratorium on granting new ETV licences (estancias turísticas en viviendas, the Balearic holiday-let licence) which, as of today, is still in force for most property types and zones. On top of this comes Decree-Law 4/2025 (Decreto-Ley 4/2025, April 2025), which bans new tourist accommodation places in multi-family buildings across the whole archipelago.

In practice, this makes the Balearics a market where the most realistic route to a holiday-let licence is not to apply for a new one, but to buy a property that already has places assigned, or to acquire places separately where the rules allow it.

Would you rather someone took care of it for you?

At beBalmy we help you understand what real options you have on your island before you buy or invest. Tell us about your situation and we will tell you how we can help.