The 3/5 community vote, in plain language
Spain's 2025 amendment changed how new short-term rental licences work in apartment buildings. What it means before you buy, sell or invest.
If you’ve been following Costa del Sol property news, you’ve probably heard the phrase “3/5 vote” or “60% community vote” in the last twelve months. It refers to a single change in Spanish law that has materially reshaped how new short-term rental licences are granted in apartment buildings. Here’s what it actually says, what changed, and what it means before you make a move.
What changed, and when
The 3/5 community-of-owners vote rule isn’t new — it was introduced into the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal in 2019 (Real Decreto-ley 7/2019), and the Supreme Court ratified it in October 2024 (sentences STS 1232/2024 and 1233/2024). What changed on 3 April 2025 is Ley Orgánica 1/2025, which tightened the regime: a three-fifths majority of the comunidad de propietarios is the threshold for community-of-owners decisions on short-term-rental activity in apartment buildings.
The key word is new. Existing licences granted before the April 2025 amendment continue under the previous regime, with no community vote required. They are grandfathered in.
Why it matters
Costa del Sol property is dominated by community apartments. If you buy one with the intention of running it as a short-term rental — VUT, Airbnb, Booking — and the building has voted to prohibit short-term rental, your plan is dead before it starts. The licence application will be rejected.
We’ve seen buyers find this out after signing the deposit. It is now part of our standard pre-viewing check.
What we do, in practice
Before any viewing on a building you’re seriously considering for short-term rental, we read the comunidad meeting minutes. The vote (or lack of vote) is a matter of record. We tell you which side of the line that specific building sits on, and what (if anything) it would take to change.
For long-stay rental, the rule does not apply. For owner-occupation, it does not apply. For short-term rental, it is the single most important question to ask before making an offer.
What if a building hasn’t voted yet
Plenty of buildings haven’t held a vote on the topic. In those cases, you’d typically need to bring the question to a comunidad meeting and obtain a 3/5 majority before a new short-term-rental application can move forward. The other direction works the same way: if a building has already voted to prohibit, that decision can be reversed by another 3/5 majority later. Either way, the practical mechanism is the same — 3/5 of the comunidad is the threshold that matters.
That timing risk is part of the picture before you offer. We always tell you when it’s there.
The bottom line
The 3/5 rule is not a barrier to investing in Costa del Sol short-term rentals. Most buildings have not voted to prohibit. But it is now an essential due-diligence step. The cost of finding out late is much higher than the cost of finding out before you offer.
If you’re considering a property with rental ambitions, ask us about the building before the viewing. We’ll have the answer before you walk through the door.