Villa with pool in Benajarafe, a house that could be let short- or long-term

Owner Guide

Holiday let or long-term rental?

What really changes between the two models in the Axarquía — income, costs, tax, risk and being able to use your house — without inflated figures.

Quick answer

In the Axarquía, a house with a pool or views in Nerja, Torrox, the Vélez coast or Rincón usually earns more as a holiday let than with a long-term tenant, even after management commission, cleaning and utilities — but not always by the margin that gets advertised, and in exchange for more management, more wear and less certainty. Long-term wins on predictability and simplicity, loses the use of the house and, since Spain's Housing Law, carries non-payment and slow-eviction risk. The answer depends on three things: the type of house, whether you want to use it, and how much uncertainty you can live with.

Income: what each model actually compares

The most common mistake is comparing a holiday let's nightly rate with a long-term monthly rent. What you should compare is net annual income: for a holiday let, occupied nights × average rate − platform fees − management commission − utilities − extra maintenance; for long-term, 12 months' rent − empty months between tenants − utilities you absorb − arrears.

In the Axarquía the annual occupancy of a well-managed holiday home moves within a wide range depending on the area: higher in Nerja and Torrox Costa thanks to their long season, more concentrated in summer in Torre del Mar and Rincón. A villa with a private pool earns in August what a long-term flat earns in a quarter; in January it may earn nothing. That curve is what has to be managed.

We don't publish generic income figures because every house is different. If you want the number for yours, we email you a free, personalised estimate within 24 hours.

Costs: what doesn't appear in the first calculation

Item	Holiday let	Long-term
Utilities (electricity, water, internet)	Paid by the owner, with air-conditioning peaks in summer	Normally paid by the tenant
Cleaning and laundry	Per stay; paid by the guest as a fee	Not applicable
Management commission	12-25% of income (ours is 18%)	One month's rent to an agency, or nothing if you self-manage
Maintenance and replacements	Higher: intensive use, linen and kitchenware replaced	Lower, but the tenant may return the house in worse shape
Insurance	Liability cover for holiday letting	Rent-default insurance, increasingly expensive
Licence and paperwork	VUT + NRA + guest registration	LAU contract, deposit lodged, energy certificate

Yes, the holiday let's net narrows compared with the gross; but so does the long-term one: empty months between tenants, one default or a refurbishment at the end of a contract easily eat one or two months' rent a year.

Tax: the difference almost nobody looks at

Long-term (tenant's main home): Spanish residents get a 50% reduction on net rental income in their IRPF, rising to 60-90% in stressed areas or with rent reductions (Law 12/2023). A real tax advantage.
Holiday let: no reduction; the full net income is taxed, and empty days generate imputed income. Expenses are deducted in proportion to days let.
Non-residents: Modelo 210 in both cases; the 50% long-term reduction does not apply to non-residents.

In plain terms: part of the holiday let's higher gross goes in tax that a long-term rental doesn't pay. It still pays off for most houses with a pool or views, but the real gap between the models is smaller than the one you see in the listing.

Risk, control and own use

Arrears and eviction: long-term, a tenant who stops paying can take many months to leave; short-term, the guest pays upfront and leaves on Saturday.
Condition of the house: holiday lets get an inspection after every stay and a platform deposit; long-term you see the house when the contract ends.
Own use: holiday lets let you block dates whenever you want; long-term, the house isn't yours until the contract ends (minimum five years when the landlord is an individual).
Certainty: long-term gives you a fixed figure every month; holiday letting gives you a curve with August at the top and January at the bottom.

And a third way: mid-term lets

Between the two sits the one- to five-month seasonal let (remote workers, European retirees in winter, families during building work). Outside the main-home tenancy law, with less wear than holiday letting and without leaving the house empty from November to March. In Rincón and Torre del Mar it is what fills the winter; in Torrox Costa the long-stay German guest does it naturally. Good management combines all three depending on the month.

Frequently asked questions

What earns more in the Axarquía, holiday letting or long-term?

For houses with a pool or views in Nerja, Torrox, the Vélez coast or Rincón, holiday letting usually earns more net, but it demands management and accepts uncertainty. For flats without distinctive features in short-season areas, the gap narrows and long-term can win on simplicity.

Can I combine both models?

Yes: holiday letting from Easter to October and mid-term stays (one to five months) in winter. It is what works best in Rincón and Torre del Mar, and what we do with several of the houses we manage.

Does long-term letting have tax advantages?

Yes, for Spanish tax residents: a 50% reduction (more in stressed areas) on net rental income when the property is the tenant's main home. Holiday letting has no such reduction, and non-residents get it in neither case.

What if I don't want to deal with anything?

Long-term, you delegate to an agency for one month's rent and then handle problems yourself; short-term, a full-service manager takes care of everything for a commission on income — in our case 18%, no lock-in.

General guidance as of August 2026; not tax or legal advice. Tenancy law and taxation change frequently.

Free guide · PDF · 2026

Letting your house in the Axarquía

VUT licence and NRA step by step, tax for residents and non-residents, a checklist to prepare the house and how to choose a manager. 8 pages, no fluff.