Chaos over vacation rental numbers: Who's right — Madrid or the Consell?

How many vacation rentals on Mallorca are really illegal? A numbers game between Madrid and the Consell

On a mild morning, when I walk along the Passeig del Born and the rolling of suitcases becomes audible, a simple question arises: Have all these apartments been checked and correctly registered, as discussed in Mallorca Magic's report on how many vacation rentals in Mallorca are legal? The answer is more complicated than the headlines suggest. Madrid and the Consell are publicly disputing thousands of allegedly illegal listings — in the end there is often only sea breeze, church bells and a pile of contradictory figures.

Two calculation methods, two results

The Spanish Housing Ministry marks tens of thousands of addresses nationwide as potentially illegal; for the Balearic Islands it reports several thousand cases with a missing or incomplete NRU. The Consell de Mallorca, on the other hand, reviewed around 1,341 listed properties and found only twelve clearly illegal accommodations — significantly less than one percent, according to the Consell de Mallorca's report finding only twelve illegal cases. Who is right? That depends on the question asked: Is an entry without an NRU immediately considered illegal, or is it initially a formal flag that needs to be checked?

Since Royal Decree 1312/2024, vacation accommodations must have a uniform registration number (NRU) and a cadastral reference when offered online. Madrid interprets this requirement strictly: no NRU, no legal listing, a stance reflected in Madrid's measures requiring platforms to remove unregistered listings. The island council interprets it more contextually: a missing NRU can also be an administrative backlog, not automatically a sign of unauthorized rentals. In short: Madrid tags according to rules, the Consell according to realities on the ground.

Why the statistics diverge so much

The discrepancy starts at the intersection of technology, administration and everyday life. Portal data often contain incomplete addresses, typos or outdated listings. The same apartment appears multiple times — sometimes with an old, sometimes with a new number. Such double counts drive automatic analyses up. There are also real administrative backlogs: landlords who have been renting legally for years but have not yet completed the new NRU procedure.

There are grey areas as well: apartments that seasonally switch between short-term rental and owner use, or are rented for several months but formally registered as long-term rentals. In neighborhoods like Santa Catalina or La Lonja I often hear: "We had the permits, the new registration has been pending for months." This reality is legally tricky — and a disaster for numbers.

What is missing from the debate

Public discussion tends to fixate on totals; the methodology often remains invisible. Were cases checked on site or only data-matched? How many alleged violations are based on faulty cadastral references? And what role do intermediary platforms play by continuing to allow listings even though documents are missing? All of these questions make the difference between actual illegality and bureaucratic inaccuracy.

Small private landlords without professional management are particularly affected. They are worse off linguistically and technically to meet new formalities quickly. Large operators automate processes; individual landlords are left behind — and are more likely to end up on the list of problematic cases without there actually being a legal breach.

Concrete steps that could create clarity

1. Transparent, central information platform: A publicly accessible database with anonymized categories — why a case was flagged, which types of errors occur — would reduce many uncertainties.

2. Clear case categories: A distinct separation between administratively incomplete, formally incorrect and actually illegally operated. This would allow priorities to be set.

3. Prioritized on-site inspections: Mobile inspection teams that check particularly disputed cases in Palma, coastal towns or popular neighborhoods, instead of relying solely on digital matching.

4. Support services for small landlords: Town hall hotspots, information days at Mercado de l'Olivar, multilingual online help and on-site consultation hours could close many formal gaps.

5. Combine sanctions with incentives: Strict measures against obvious violations, while at the same time facilitating re-registration — simplified applications, reduced fees during a transition period.

6. Responsibility of platforms: Temporarily hide listings without a valid NRU until the formalities have been checked. This would increase the pressure to re-register, without immediately criminalizing small landlords.

Why this matters for Mallorca's everyday life

For travelers, clarity means reliable bookings and transparent contacts. For neighbors it means fewer disputes and more predictable quiet. And for the island's economy, a comprehensible supply basis would be better — both for tax and planning issues. Without practical measures, the debate risks fading into political echo: lots of noise, little progress.

In the end, it's not just about numbers, but about people: landlords in the summer business, neighbors who want to preserve the sea and their peace, and officials in offices who look for solutions among mountains of files. A little less party politics and more local competence would help Mallorca — both the tourists with their rolling suitcases and the people who live here and cherish the sound of the church bells.