THE days of rogue holiday landlords flying under the radar in Andalucia may be numbered as a new elite ‘digital snoop force’ begins operations.
Authorities have warned there is ‘nowhere left to hide’ as the Junta deploys a specialised police unit dubbed the ‘Titan Group’ charged specifically with hunting down illegal tourist lets.
Instead of just knocking on doors, Titan agents are now using advanced ‘web scraping’ AI software to crawl the internet remotely.
The unit is actively scanning social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, alongside property portals, to find holiday home adverts that fail to display a valid tourist registration number (VFT).
If a property is found advertising online without a licence, disciplinary proceedings can begin immediately without a physical inspection.
But the ultimate digital trap involves cross-referencing data with the tax authority, the Hacienda.
The Junta has made clear that operating a tourist property without a valid VFT registration number constitutes a very serious infraction under regional tourism law that can face fines of up to €600,000.
Officials say the new unit will focus on identifying properties being advertised without that number and coordinating with local councils to initiate sanction proceedings.
Under existing rules, any property marketed for short-term tourist use in Andalucia must display a valid registration number in advertisements on platforms such as Airbnb and other portals.
But now with new data-sharing protocols, the unit can compare advertised booking calendars against real-time electricity consumption records.
If a property claims to be empty, or registered as a non-tourist let, but shows spikes in energy usage consistent with high-turnover holidaymakers, it triggers an automatic red flag for inspectors.
READ MORE: Spain hits Airbnb with massive €64m fine as portal still flouts housing laws
The digital force is also specifically targeting the ‘seasonal rental’ loophole, used by many landlords to bypass strict new tourist laws by offering monthly contracts.
Agents are now demanding ‘proof of purpose’ for every seasonal let.
If a landlord cannot produce a contract showing the tenant is there for a specific temporary reason — such as a work contract or study course — the authorities can legally reclassify the agreement as a long-term residential let.
This grants the tenant the right to stay for up to five years, effectively stripping the owner of control over their property.
The move comes amid a sweeping purge of the region’s official tourism register that has already seen 13,037 properties struck off, according to figures confirmed by the regional government.
Nearly 5,000 of those cancelled listings were in Malaga province alone, underlining the scale of the crackdown on the Costa del Sol.
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