How to spot a fake holiday rental listing on the Costa del Sol

By the Spain Rental Licence Check team · Published 24 September 2026 · Updated 24 September 2026 · 6 min read

Every summer, holidaymakers arrive in Málaga, Marbella or Fuengirola to find that the apartment they paid for does not exist, is already occupied, or is being let without permission. Most of these scams follow the same pattern, and a few minutes of checking can avoid them.

Why the Costa del Sol attracts rental scams

The coast has more than 100,000 registered holiday homes, high summer demand and many visitors booking from abroad. That combination makes it easy for a fraudster to copy photos from a genuine listing, post them on a classified site or social media, and ask for a transfer.

Andalucía requires every holiday home (vivienda de uso turístico) to be registered with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía and to display its registration number in all adverts. That number is your best single check.

Warning signs to look for

Treat a listing with caution if you notice any of the following:

No registration number in the advert, or a number in the wrong format (Andalucía uses references such as VFT/MA/12345).
A price far below similar properties for the same dates.
The host asks you to leave the platform and pay by bank transfer, cryptocurrency or a money-transfer service.
Pressure to pay quickly because 'another family is interested'.
Photos that appear on other listings under a different name — a reverse image search can reveal this.
No exact address until after payment.

Five checks before you pay

First, search the registration number on our licence checker. It compares the number against official public registers and shows the municipality and category it belongs to.

Second, confirm the municipality matches the advert. A number registered in Nerja should not appear on a listing described as being in Marbella.

Third, compare the registered capacity with the number of guests the listing accepts.

Fourth, keep all communication and payment on the booking platform, where you have some protection.

Finally, if booking directly, ask for a written contract with the owner's details and pay by a method that offers chargeback, such as a credit card.

What to do if something goes wrong

If you think you have been scammed, report it to the platform immediately and file a complaint (denuncia) with the Policía Nacional or Guardia Civil — this can be started online. Contact your bank as soon as possible to try to stop or reverse the payment.

Check a registration number

Enter the regional tourism registration shown on the accommodation listing, exactly as it appears. If you enter a recognised national ESFCTU identifier, we’ll explain what type of number it is. Different registration types have different levels of public-data availability, so a “not found” result does not necessarily mean the accommodation is unregistered.