Can you rent your Barcelona apartment monthly without a tourist licence?
Yes — above 31 nights.
That is the short answer, and it rests on a definition rather than an interpretation. But the question owners are really asking is usually broader than the licence: whether letting monthly is a viable place to put an apartment as 2028 approaches, and how settled the ground under it is. Those deserve separate answers, because one is firm and the other is moving.
Written August 2026. Regulation in this area changes; check the position before acting on it.
Where the line sits
In Catalonia, a habitatge d’ús turístic (HUT) — a home for tourist use — is a whole dwelling let for periods of 31 days or fewer. That is the definition, and it is the bright line the whole regime hangs from.
Below it, you need a licence. At or above 32 nights, the let falls outside the HUT definition entirely, and a tourist licence is not the instrument involved. What you use instead is a seasonal rental contract — contracte de temporada, or arrendamiento de temporada — which is a long-established form of Spanish tenancy for lets with a defined non-permanent purpose: a work assignment, a study term, a medical treatment, a project.
This is not a loophole and it is not new. It is a different category of letting with its own body of law, and it predates the tourist-licence regime by decades.
Why this matters more than it used to
Barcelona intends to withdraw all tourist-apartment licences by November 2028 — about 10,100 units. Whatever happens to that plan, the direction is clear enough that owners are asking what remains.
What remains is this: stays of 32 nights and over, on seasonal contracts, sit outside the HUT scope. That is why mid-term letting has moved from a niche to the obvious hedge for licensed owners, and to the only realistic route for unlicensed ones.
It also changes who your guest is. A 32-night minimum does not suit a weekend visitor. It suits people on work assignments, corporate relocations, sabbaticals, medical stays and academic terms — a different market, with different expectations, and generally a calmer one to run.
What is settled and what is not
Settled: the 31-day definition. A let of 31 nights or fewer is tourist use and needs a licence. A let of 32 nights or more is not tourist use.
In flux: the regulation around mid-term letting itself. This is an active area — how seasonal contracts are treated, what registration or reporting may attach to them, and how the city approaches the segment as short-term supply contracts. The current position is clear; the direction of travel is not fixed.
The practical consequence is that the threshold is something you can plan around, while the rules surrounding it are something to keep watching. An owner moving to mid-term today is not building on sand, but nor should they assume nothing further will change.
What letting monthly actually involves
Falling outside the HUT regime removes a licence requirement. It does not remove everything else.
You still need a properly drafted seasonal contract with the temporary purpose stated. You still have tax obligations on the rental income. You still have the ordinary duties of a landlord regarding habitability, deposits and utilities. Depending on the arrangement, guest registration requirements may still apply.
Get the contract right in particular. A seasonal contract that does not evidence its temporary purpose invites the argument that it was really a primary residence tenancy, which carries substantially different rights and durations. This is the part worth paying a professional for.
If you are weighing it up
The question to ask is not only whether you may let monthly, but whether your apartment suits it. A studio that thrives on three-night stays may perform differently over thirty-two nights. Mid-term guests care more about the desk, the kitchen, the washing machine and the light than about proximity to the Sagrada Família.
That is a property question rather than a legal one, and it is answerable.
Bizflats manages both licensed short-term and mid-term apartments in Barcelona. If you want to know which suits your property, ask for an assessment. This article is general information, not legal advice — for your specific situation, take proper counsel.