ETV Licence When Buying a House: Checklist Before the Notary

An ETV licence for holiday rentals stays attached to the property, but it does not pass to you automatically when you buy. If you buy a house that already has an ETV licence, you have to set the transfer in motion yourself: record it in the purchase contract, enter it in the Escritura, and notify the CAIB tourism authority. Miss one of these steps and the licence formally stays registered to the seller, which means you would be renting without a valid permit. This post covers what to check before the notary appointment if you plan to use a finca or apartment partly yourself and partly for holiday rentals.

What Is an ETV Licence?

An ETV licence (Estancia Turística en Vivienda) is the official Balearic permit to rent out a residential property to tourists on a short-term basis. It is tied to a specific property and a fixed number of sleeping places, and it is issued by the CAIB tourism authority.

Standalone houses and fincas fall under the regular ETV licence. For apartments in multi-unit buildings there is the ETV60 variant, which usually comes with extra conditions from the owners' association and caps the number of units that can be rented out in the same building. You can tell which variant applies to a property from its licence number, and it is worth clarifying this with the seller or their lawyer before you buy.

Why the Licence Does Not Transfer Automatically on Sale

The ETV licence is tied to the property, but legally it is issued in the name of the current owner. When the property is sold, the so-called change of holder has to be applied for explicitly: the new owner is registered with the CAIB tourism authority, and the licence's NRUA number is updated to their name. Without this step, the licence stays formally registered to the seller, even once you are already listed as the owner in the land registry.

Our guide to buying property on Mallorca explains how the purchase process itself works, from reservation to signing at the notary. That alone is not enough for the licence transfer: you also need to record the change explicitly in the purchase contract and the Escritura, and file the notification with the Conselleria de Turisme of the CAIB within the required deadline after signing.

Checklist Before the Notary Appointment

Before signing with the notary, it is worth checking the following points:

• Compare the number of sleeping places (plazas) registered on the licence with the actual property
• Check the licence type: ETV for standalone houses or ETV60 for apartments in multi-unit buildings
• Ask the Consell de Mallorca whether there are any pending sanction proceedings against the licence or the property
• Check that the Cédula de Habitabilidad and the energy certificate for the property are still valid; both are mandatory when selling a rented property
• Request a nota simple from the Registro de la Propiedad and compare it against the details in the purchase contract
• For licences issued through the lottery (sorteo), check when they were awarded, since a transfer ban applies for a set period

You can read more about the legal basics of holiday rentals, and what actually makes an ETV licence valid, in our guide to holiday rentals on Mallorca.

What the Licence Is Worth on the Purchase Price

A property with a valid, transferable ETV licence is worth more to buyers than a comparable property without one, because new licences in the Balearics have been suspended or only available by lottery for years. How much that affects the price depends on location, capacity and local demand, and cannot be stated as a flat percentage.

One point in particular is worth checking: under the CAIB's award conditions, licences from the 2026 lottery cannot be transferred for five years. If you buy a property with a licence like this, the earliest you could resell it or re-register it to a new owner is 2031. That does not affect ongoing rental use itself, only a later resale with the licence attached, so keep that date in mind.

Does an ETV licence transfer automatically when I buy a house? No. The licence stays registered to the previous owner's name at first. You have to record the transfer in the purchase contract and the Escritura, and report the change of holder to the CAIB tourism authority so the NRUA number gets updated.

Our guide to the ETV licence and illegal holiday rentals explains the inspections and fines that apply under the tourism law if something goes wrong, whether it is the previous or the new owner who is at fault.

Conclusion

An ETV licence makes a property on Mallorca more valuable to buyers who plan to rent it out, but it never transfers automatically with the change of ownership. Record the transfer explicitly in the purchase contract and the Escritura, report the change of holder to the CAIB tourism authority, and check the licence type, any pending sanction proceedings, and the Cédula and energy certificate before the notary appointment. If you are buying a finca or apartment with a licence from the 2026 lottery, also keep the five-year transfer ban in mind before you plan on a later resale.