Mandatory ten-year insurance to register tourist apartments: what developers must do

Key data

If you are a developer of tourist apartments and have completed works pending registration, this resolution directly affects you. The Resolution of 11 March 2026 from the DGSJFP, published on 17 June 2026, definitively closes the door to registering the completion of work for tourist apartments without proving the ten-year insurance required by article 19 of the Building Organization Law.

The case that originates the resolution is specific: a development company with ten tourist apartments in Almendralejo attempted to register the completion of work without providing the ten-year insurance policy. The registrar suspended the registration and the DGSJFP confirms that negative qualification, rejecting all arguments presented by the developer.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution consolidates clear doctrine: tourist apartments are subject to mandatory ten-year insurance to register the completion of work in the Property Registry. The DGSJFP rejected one by one the three arguments that the developer attempted to use to evade this obligation:

The legal basis is article 19 of Law 38/1999, of 5 November, on Building Organization. This article requires the establishment of ten-year insurance for buildings whose main purpose is housing. The DGSJFP interprets that tourist apartments, being residential units susceptible to use as a dwelling, fall within this scope even though their usual operation is tourist.

Economic and operational impact

The practical consequences of this resolution are immediate and have a direct economic and operational impact for any developer in the sector:

• Registry blockage: Without ten-year insurance, the completion of work cannot be registered in the Property Registry. This prevents transferring the units with full legal guarantees and hinders or prevents mortgage financing.
• Cost of ten-year insurance: The ten-year insurance premium usually ranges between 1% and 2% of the cost of material execution of the work, although the exact amount depends on each insurer and project. This cost must be incorporated into the promotion budget from the start.
• Risk in ongoing operations: Developers who have already completed works without contracting insurance face a problem with difficult retroactive solution, since ten-year insurance must be contracted before or during construction, not after completion.
• Impact on asset value: Unregistered units or those with suspended registration have lower market value and generate legal uncertainty for buyers and investors.

Who does it affect?

• Development companies of tourist apartments that are executing or have executed new construction or rehabilitation works.
• Individual owners who develop tourist apartments and wish to register the completion of work.
• Real estate asset managers with portfolios of tourist apartments pending property registration regularization.
• Legal advisors and notaries who intervene in purchase and sale operations or financing of this type of assets.
• Financial entities that grant developer loans or mortgages on tourist apartments: they must verify the existence of ten-year insurance as a prerequisite for registration.
• Investors and real estate funds with exposure to the tourist apartment segment in Spain.

Practical example

The case that originates the resolution is the best available example: a development company builds ten tourist apartments in Almendralejo. Once the work is completed, it attempts to register the completion in the Property Registry without providing the ten-year insurance policy.

The registrar suspends the registration. The developer appeals to the DGSJFP arguing that tourist use excludes residential character, that the work is a rehabilitation, and that the urban planning license as tertiary hospitality use exempts it from insurance. The DGSJFP rejects all three arguments and confirms the registrar's negative qualification.

Result: the ten apartments remain without property registration of work completion. This means that the developer cannot transfer them with full legal certainty nor access mortgage financing on those units until it proves the insurance, something that, once the work is completed, may be impossible or very costly to remedy.

What should companies do now?

1. Audit your ongoing promotions: Verify if you have tourist apartments under construction or recently completed without ten-year insurance contracted. The insurance must be in force before the completion of the work.
2. Contract ten-year insurance before completing the work: If the work is under execution, contract the policy immediately. Once construction is completed, insurers generally do not accept retroactive contracting.
3. Review pending purchase and sale operations: If you have units pending sale or transfer, verify that property registration is complete. Without it, the operation may be blocked or generate contingencies for the buyer.
4. Inform your financiers: If you have a developer loan on a tourist apartment promotion, communicate to the financial entity the status of ten-year insurance to avoid loan condition breaches.
5. Update your internal processes: Include verification of ten-year insurance as a mandatory requirement in the checklist for any new tourist apartment promotion, regardless of the urban planning classification of use.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is purely informative in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-13183