Habitatge d'ús turístic (HUT)
tourist-use dwelling — the “licencia turística”
Definition
A habitatge d'ús turístic (HUT) is a dwelling its owner lets as a whole to tourists, for payment, for stays of 31 days or fewer. It is what people usually mean by a “licencia turística”: it has to be communicated to the town hall and entered in the Catalan tourism register before it operates.
Why it matters
It is the whole flat, never room by room — renting rooms in a home you live in is a different category (llar compartida) with its own rules.
Since Decree-law 3/2023, municipalities with a strained housing market need a prior urban-planning licence for new tourist flats, with a cap on numbers per inhabitant and licences limited to five years and subject to renewal. The Constitutional Court upheld the decree-law in 2025.
Barcelona has announced that it will not renew existing HUT licences when its current framework expires in November 2028. For an owner, that date belongs in any plan that relies on tourist income from a flat in the city.
Where this comes up
Related terms
Sources
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