You can run a legal holiday let (VUT, “Vivienda de Uso Turístico” — a registered tourist-use dwelling) in Jávea/Xàbia in 2025. Just follow the rules. The region checks paperwork. The town has a pause on new flat licences. Platforms pull ads with no number. Do this:
What’s new in 2025
- Five-year registration. Your VUT entry expires. Renew at year five.
- Number everywhere. Show the official ID in every advert and at the door.
- Urban compatibility first. Town Hall must say your property allows tourist use.
- Xàbia moratorium (flats). New licences for apartments paused for six months while rules are updated.
- Platform clean-ups. Listings without valid numbers are auto-removed.
Who this hits
- Short stays = VUT. Renting by days/weeks and advertising publicly? Register first and display the number.
- Flats in the pause. New tourist-use applications won’t pass during the moratorium. Existing, correctly registered VUTs continue; changes are usually frozen.
- Houses / villas not paused. Detached homes (Montgó, Tosalet, Balcón al Mar, etc.) can still seek compatibility and register if they meet the rules.
Villas: what owners must do
- Still need all the steps. Being outside the pause doesn’t skip the process:
- Community/urbanisation check. Get a short certificate that statutes don’t ban tourist use.
- Urban compatibility from Xàbia Town Hall (no green light, no VUT).
- VUT registration online (declaración responsable) and keep the number handy.
- Display the number in every advert and on signage.
- Renew at five years.
How to stay legal (5 steps)
- Check community statutes. If your building/urbanisation bans tourist use, stop. Get proof that it doesn’t.
- Request urban compatibility. From Xàbia Town Hall. No green light, no VUT.
- File the “declaración responsable”. Register online with the Generalitat. Get your VUT number. Keep the receipt.
- Publish the number. In every listing and on property signage.
- Set a renewal reminder. A few months before the five-year mark.
The moratorium, plain and simple
Targets new licences in multi-family buildings (Old Town, Port, Arenal are the pressure zones). Single-family homes are outside the pause. Buying a flat to VUT right now? Assume not yet until the window closes or new rules land.
Mistakes that kill listings
- No number in the advert.
- Half-filled registration (missing cadastral ref, old contact details).
- Listing before compatibility.
- Ignoring community rules.
Platform reality
Property portals cross-check ads against the register. Number missing, wrong, or not matching the address? The ad disappears. Fix the file, not the SEO.
Medium-term as a stopgap
1–11-month contracts (winter families, remote workers) are a different regime. They don’t bypass the moratorium for flats, but they can steady income. Use the right contract. Confirm tax with your gestor.
Your Q4 2025 checklist
- Community certificate, urban compatibility, registration PDF, signage photo, cadastral reference on file.
- Number visible on every platform and your site.
- Renewal reminder set four months before year five.
- If buying: lawyer checks community rules and asks Town Hall about that exact address.
Bottom line: compatibility → registration → number on every advert. That’s what the town, the region, and the platforms check first.
Last verified: 27 Sep 2025 (Europe/Madrid).
