Andorra Approves Auto-Cancellation of Inactive Tourist Housing Registrations

The Andorran government has approved a regulation to automatically cancel registrations for tourist-use housing (HUT) that records no activity for 12 consecutive months, as part of implementing the Law for Sustainable Growth and the Right to Housing, or Òmnibus law.

Government spokesperson and Minister Guillem Casal announced the measure at Wednesday's post-Council of Ministers press conference. He indicated that more than 100 such properties are currently eligible, having failed to log clients in the Tourist Accommodation Occupancy Register (ROAT). "From 17 April onward, there will be constant monitoring, and any property that goes 12 months without registering clients will be removed," Casal stated. The rule covers both the HUT register and the register for tourist housing management companies (EGHUT). Owners can re-register once they resume operations and meet requirements, with officials stressing it is administrative housekeeping, not a sanction.

The regulation takes effect on 17 April, marking the law's first anniversary. Casal described it as a way to boost register reliability, strengthen tourism controls, and prevent the unjustified retention of unused properties, thereby channeling them toward the residential market. Since the law entered parliamentary process, 363 tourist flats have shifted to residential use through sales or rentals, with owners often preempting new rules or unable to comply.

The Tourist Accommodation Association (AEAT) has welcomed the step. President Àlex Ruiz noted that members had supported it during the law's debate, arguing that properties inactive for a year—whether rented residentially, used illegally, or simply idle—should lose their licence.

Casal said deregistrations will happen progressively as 12-month periods end. Over the past year, the Tourism Ministry has opened seven cases against accommodations for faulty ROAT submissions and plans tighter compliance checks. Deregistered flats later listed residentially could face review as potentially overpriced vacant units if they exceed price criteria.