🌴 Tourist licenses in Formentera in 2026: everything you need to know.
Formentera—and the rest of the Balearic Islands—is at a pivotal moment for regulating tourism and vacation rentals. The issuance of new tourist licenses is blocked or severely limited, and knowing why is essential if you own or plan to invest on the island.In this article, we’ll explain it to you in a simple, up-to-date way, with the latest news, so you can understand the legal and market landscape and what the near future holds.
🧱 What’s happening with tourist licenses?
Since 2022, the Balearic Government has decreed a moratorium on the granting of new tourist licenses for accommodations such as tourist-use dwellings or vacation rentals throughout the region.
The moratorium will remain at least until 2026
👉 This closure has been implemented with a focus on sustainability and controlling tourism growth, reducing pressure on housing and the environment.
🏛️ What is the basis for the blockade?
- Limit the creation of new tourist accommodations.
- Fight against unregistered or illegal accommodations.
- Defend residential use against tourism.
- And although this rule doesn’t only affect Formentera (it applies throughout the Balearic Islands), it’s the one that currently justifies the blockade.
- Additionally, a total moratorium prohibits new multifamily housing units throughout the Balearic Islands, meaning apartments in apartment buildings.
🧠Why was this decision made?
📌 1. Tourist Sustainability Tourism Sustainability. The Balearic Islands want to avoid mass tourism that overwhelms services, infrastructure, housing, and natural resources.Formentera, with a high proportion of vacation rentals relative to its population (47% in 2021–22, the highest in the Balearic Islands), is an example of this tension.
📌 2. Accommodation and the Real Estate Market Vacation rentals have made housing more expensive for residents, reducing the supply of long-term rentals and increasing access costs.
đź“Ś 3.Combating illegality , The law establishes a Single Tourist Rental Registry and obligations that prevent listing properties on Airbnb or Booking without a license.
🛑 What Does This Block Imply for Owners and Administrators?
✔️ If you’re already licensed:
Your license remains valid as long as you renew it in accordance with the law.You must register it in the Single Registry and include the number in your ads.You must comply with the safety, habitability, and other requirements established by island regulations.
❌ If you want a new license.
Currently, no new tourist licenses for vacation rentals or new slots are being granted until limits are defined and the moratorium is formally lifted.
The only ways to access the market are to acquire an already licensed property or to wait for the Consell Insular de Formentera and the Island Territorial Plan regulations to define new conditions and limits.
🗓️ When could it change?
The moratorium is scheduled to last at least until 2026, but the exact date for lifting it will depend on:
đź“Ť Establish and approve a limit on tourist accommodation places in Formentera, based on tourism capacity studies.
📍 Incorporate these limits into land-use planning instruments such as the Island Territorial Plan (PTI).And that could mean the blockade continues beyond 2026 if a defined framework isn’t reached.
đź“° Balearic tourism in free fall
👉 In Ibiza, vacation rentals were cut in half in 2025 due to the change in law and the elimination of illegal properties. And this is a sign of what these types of regulations cause on nearby islands and what could happen in Formentera.
Platforms fined
👉 The Spanish government fined Airbnb €64 million for unlicensed listings.
These actions confirm that the regulations are being enforced more rigorously across the entire country, including the Balearic Islands.
These news items are essential for understanding the current regulatory wave and the priorities in tourism and housing.
đź“Ś Conclusions: What do you need to know?
✔️ The moratorium on tourist licenses in Formentera has been extended until at least 2026 and is based on sustainability and tourism control policies.
✔️ Decree-Law 4/2025 and its supplementary regulations consolidate this approach, prohibiting new tourist accommodation spaces in residential buildings.
✔️ Licensed operators must update their status and comply with the requirements (Single Registry, safety regulations, etc.).
✔️ The chances of new licenses are virtually nonexistent at present, but they could open up once local tourist accommodation limits are finalized and approved.
đź“ť Practical tips
âś… Stay up to date with the latest news from the PTI and the Consell de Formentera.
âś… Check your legal situation with a lawyer specializing in tourism and urban planning law.
âś… Anticipate: the issuance of new licenses will likely involve a participatory and technical process.
âś… If you already have a license, update all your information and complete the Single Registry to avoid penalties.
