Selling a Spanish Apartment With Active VUT Licence 2026: What Happens to the NRUA

Selling a Spanish Apartment With Active VUT Licence 2026: What Happens to the NRUA

If you are selling a Spanish property that currently operates as a VUT (Vivienda de Uso Turistico), you face questions that most solicitors in the UK or the US are not equipped to answer: does the licence transfer with the property, what happens to the NRUA code, and how is the capital gain taxed for a non-resident? This guide covers the full process, from notarial obligations to the 3% withholding that every non-resident seller faces.

Real Decreto 1312/2024 created the NRUA as a national registry linked both to a property and to its registered operator. When ownership changes, the fate of the NRUA code depends on the autonomous community where the property is located. Getting this wrong can mean the buyer pays a premium for an operational VUT and discovers on the day of signing that the regional licence is personal and cannot be transferred.

VUT Licence Transferability by Autonomous Community

Autonomous Community	Regional licence code	Transferable with sale	Conditions and timeline
Catalonia	HUTG	NO	Licence is personal. Buyer must apply for new HUTG. In Barcelona, PEUAT moratorium makes new HUTG impossible in most zones.
Madrid	VUT (VTT)	YES	Licence stays with the property. Buyer files Declaracion Responsable with Comunidad de Madrid within 30 days of escritura.
Andalusia	VFT	YES (with steps)	New Declaracion Responsable to Registro de Turismo de Andalucia within 6 months of completion.
Balearic Islands	ETV	Partial	Detached houses often transferable. Apartments in complexes subject to ZTM quotas. Verify case by case with Conselleria de Turisme.
Canary Islands	VV	YES	New owner updates details in CANATUR within 30 days of escritura.
Valencia	VT	YES	Notification to Turisme Comunitat Valenciana within 15 working days of escritura.

The NRUA code follows the regional licence. If the regional licence is personal and non-transferable (Catalonia), the NRUA of the seller is extinguished on the date of the notarial deed. The buyer starts from zero and, in a city like Barcelona, may find it impossible to get a new HUTG under the current PEUAT moratorium. This makes Catalan VUT properties difficult to price: the buyer is paying for a business that legally cannot be transferred.

What the Notarial Deed Must Reflect

Since the entry into force of RD 1312/2024, Spanish notaries dealing with VUT property sales are expected to address the following in the deed:

• The active NRUA number or a declaration that the property does not hold an NRUA.
• The autonomous community licence code and its status: active, suspended or expired.
• A declaration by the seller that no open disciplinary proceedings exist with the regional tourism authority.
• A declaration by the seller that the community of owners has no resolution under LPH art. 17.12 banning VUT that post-dates the licence grant.
• An agreement between buyer and seller specifying who manages the licence transfer process and by what deadline.

If the escritura is silent on these points and the buyer later discovers an open sanction or an undisclosed community ban, a claim for latent defects under Codigo Civil art. 1484 is possible. In practice this generates lengthy litigation that both parties prefer to avoid by doing proper due diligence before signing.

Capital Gains Tax for Non-Residents: the 3% Withholding Mechanism

Every non-resident seller of Spanish property is subject to a withholding mechanism under art. 25.2 of the IRNR Law (Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004). The buyer is legally required to withhold 3% of the escritura price and pay it to the AEAT on behalf of the seller using Modelo 211, within one month of the date of the deed.

This 3% is a payment on account of the seller's final IRNR liability on the capital gain. If the actual tax on the gain is less than the 3% withheld, the seller can claim the difference back from the AEAT using Modelo 210 (filed within 4 months of the deed date).

If the actual tax on the gain exceeds the 3% withheld, the seller must pay the shortfall. If the seller makes no declaration and disappears, the buyer is personally liable for any underpayment, which is why buyers always insist on the 3% retention even on sales between friendly parties.

Calculating the Capital Gain: LIRPF Art. 35 Applied to Non-Residents

The mechanics of the capital gain calculation are the same whether the seller is a Spanish resident (paying IRPF) or a non-resident (paying IRNR). The formula is:

Capital gain = Transmission value - Acquisition value

• Transmission value: sale price in the escritura less costs borne by the seller: notary fees on the sale, plusvalia municipal (if contractually assigned to seller), estate agent commission.
• Acquisition value: original purchase price plus costs paid at acquisition (notary, land registry, ITP or IVA plus AJD, agent commission if paid by buyer in the original purchase). Then add the cost of structural improvements made during ownership (with invoices). Then subtract the total amortisation deducted against rental income during the VUT operation period. If you deducted EUR 9,000 in amortisation over 3 years, the acquisition value falls by EUR 9,000 and the gain rises by EUR 9,000.

The tax rates on capital gains for non-residents are:

• 19% for EU/EEA residents (Ireland, Germany, France, and 26 other states).
• 19% for UK residents on gains up to EUR 6,000 (under the UK-Spain Double Taxation Convention 1976, Art. 13, capital gains from immovable property are taxable only in the country where the property is located, at the local rate). The 24% non-EU rate applies but the Convention caps effective double taxation via the credit mechanism in the UK.

Wait, this needs clarification: Spain taxes non-EU non-residents at 19% on capital gains from property (not at 24%, which applies only to rental income). The 19% rate on capital gains applies regardless of EU/non-EU status, which is more favourable than the rental income situation.

Plusvalia Municipal: the Hidden Tax on Property Sales

Independently of IRPF or IRNR, the seller owes the Impuesto sobre el Incremento de Valor de los Terrenos de Naturaleza Urbana (IIVTNU), known as plusvalia municipal, to the local ayuntamiento. Since the Constitutional Court ruling of October 2021, the calculation method is optional:

• Objective method: land cadastral value multiplied by government-set coefficients depending on years of ownership. This often produces lower results for properties held 10 or more years.
• Real method: difference between sale price and purchase price attributable to the land component (excluding buildings). If you have made a loss or the gain is zero, no plusvalia is due.

In cities like Barcelona, Madrid or Malaga, the plusvalia can range from EUR 3,000 to EUR 30,000 depending on years of ownership and the cadastral value of the land. Always request a simulation from the ayuntamiento before agreeing the sale price. The filing deadline is 30 working days from the escritura for inter vivos sales.

UK-Spain Double Taxation Treaty: How It Works for VUT Sellers

The 1976 Convention between the UK and Spain for the avoidance of double taxation (updated by protocol in 2014) allocates taxing rights as follows for property disposals:

• Art. 6: income from immovable property is taxable in the state where the property is located (Spain). The UK may also tax it as worldwide income but must give a credit for the Spanish tax paid.
• Art. 13: capital gains from immovable property are taxable in Spain. The UK taxes gains of UK residents on worldwide assets but credits the Spanish IRNR paid against the UK CGT liability.

Practical result: you do not pay double tax but you will pay the higher of the two countries' rates. In 2026, UK CGT on residential property is 18% (basic rate taxpayers) or 24% (higher and additional rate taxpayers) for gains above the annual exempt amount (GBP 3,000 in 2026). Spain taxes the gain at 19%. If you are a UK higher-rate taxpayer, the net position after treaty credit might still leave you with additional UK CGT to pay on top of the Spanish 19%.

Practical Checklist for Non-Resident VUT Sellers

• Appoint a Spanish fiscal representative if you do not already have one. They will receive the Modelo 211 filed by the buyer and coordinate your Modelo 210 refund claim if the 3% withheld exceeds your actual tax.
• Obtain from your regional tourism authority a certificate confirming your VUT licence is active and in good standing. This is increasingly required by buyers and their legal advisers.
• Ask your gestor for a calculation of your approximate capital gain and the resulting IRNR before accepting the sale price. A EUR 10,000 swing in the estimated tax can affect the net proceeds significantly.
• Request a plusvalia municipal simulation from the ayuntamiento where the property is located. Factor this into your net of costs sale price.
• Agree in the arras contract (preliminary sale agreement) which party bears the cost of the VUT licence transfer process and the associated gestor or lawyer fees. Put a deadline in the arras.
• If you are in Catalonia with a HUTG, disclose clearly to the buyer that the HUTG is personal and non-transferable and that the PEUAT may prevent them from getting a new licence in the same zone. This disclosure should be in writing and attached to the arras.
• File your UK tax return for the year of sale to report the Spanish capital gain and claim the treaty credit for Spanish IRNR paid. The credit is given on the UK self-assessment Modelo SA106 (foreign income and gains supplement).

Timing the Sale to Minimise Tax

Three timing considerations apply specifically to non-resident VUT sellers:

• Sell in a year when your UK income is lower: if UK CGT rates apply at the margin, selling in a year when you have lower UK income pushes more of the gain into the basic rate band, reducing UK CGT from 24% to 18% on the portion exceeding the Spanish credit.
• Coordinate the escritura date with your quarterly IRNR Modelo 210 deadline: rental income earned in the quarter of sale is separate from the capital gain and must still be reported on the normal quarterly schedule.
• Avoid selling in the same year as other large capital disposals in the UK: the annual CGT exempt amount (GBP 3,000) applies across all gains in a tax year. If you are also selling UK assets, the order of disposals can affect which gains fall into the exempt band.