Investing in Costa del Sol property, with the full picture

Rental rules in Spain are changing fast. Before you buy, we look at the numbers, the law and the tax together, so your investment still works in five or ten years.

Three ways to invest, three different sets of rules

	Personal use + holiday lets	Mid-term rentals	Long-term rentals
Typical goal	Enjoy it yourself and cover costs	Income from professionals on temporary contracts	Steady income and capital growth
What matters most	A valid tourist licence and real rental history	A genuine temporary need, documented in each contract	Location, tenant profile and rent rules
Main risk	Licence limits and community rules	Contracts reclassified as long-term	Rent caps and tenant extensions

What we tell every investor before they buy

Tourist licences are getting harder to find. Buying a property that already has a tourist registration and proven bookings is often the safest route, but each one must be checked to make sure it can keep operating legally after the sale.
Mid-term is not a loophole. A seasonal or temporary contract has to reflect a real temporary housing need, not just a shorter term.
Long-term lets protect the tenant. Limits on rent increases, rights to extend and the conditions for recovering the property all affect your return and your flexibility.
Location still decides. Marbella is highly competitive for well-priced, licensed apartments; Estepona, Casares, Manilva, Mijas and Fuengirola can offer a better balance for some budgets.

What we do for investors

Investment brief. Your goals, budget, timeline and how hands-on you want to be.
Return analysis. Realistic income, vacancy, running costs, taxes and financing, property by property.
Search and selection. Properties from all agencies, filtered by your rental strategy, including those with an existing tourist licence.
Legal and technical due diligence. Licence status, community rules, title, debts and condition.
Ownership structure and tax. Buying personally or through a company, and how personal use is treated.
After the purchase. Rental management in Marbella, or a trusted local partner elsewhere, with us as your main contact.

Real questions from investors, and our answers

Details changed to protect our clients’ privacy.

A holiday home that pays for itself. A business owner from northern Europe, buying through his own company with a budget of €350,000–450,000, wanted an apartment to use himself and let to holidaymakers the rest of the year, with an existing tourist licence and rental history.

Our advice: in Marbella, a well-priced licensed apartment at that budget is hard to find, so we suggested also looking at Estepona, Casares, Manilva, Mijas and Fuengirola. We check each property’s rental history, running costs and whether it can keep operating legally after the purchase, and compare buying personally with buying through the company, including how his own use is treated.

Two properties or one, over ten years. An investor based abroad, with around €600,000 and a Spanish mortgage, was weighing one larger property against two smaller ones. His goal: grow his wealth over ten years, with mid- or long-term tenants and minimal out-of-pocket costs.

Our advice: before choosing the property, choose the rental model. Rent rules, tenant rights and how mid-term contracts are assessed all change the numbers. We compare the options side by side, including purchase costs, financing and expected running costs, so the decision rests on facts, not on a headline yield.