Empadronamiento with a short-term rental or serviced apartment

You've just arrived, you're in a short let or a serviced apartment while you look for something longer, and every form seems to want the same thing: your empadronamiento (registration on the town hall's population register). Can you register from where you're staying now?

The short answer depends on your town hall. Here's what the national rules say, what Madrid asks for, and what to take with you.

What the padrón is

The padrón municipal is the administrative register of the people who live in a municipality. Its data are proof of residence in the municipality and of your usual address there, and certificates issued from it are public documents valid for all administrative purposes (Ley 7/1985 de Bases del Régimen Local, art. 16.1, BOE).

Everyone who lives in Spain has to register in the padrón of the municipality where they usually live. If you live in more than one, you register only in the one where you spend most of the year (art. 15).

If you're a non-EU national without long-term residence authorisation, your registration has to be renewed every two years; otherwise it can lapse (art. 16.1; Reglamento de Población y Demarcación Territorial de las Entidades Locales, Real Decreto 1690/1986, art. 54 bis, BOE).

The national rules: the padrón records where you actually live

The INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Spain's statistics office) and the Dirección General de Cooperación Autonómica y Local issue technical instructions to town halls on how to run the padrón. The current ones are the Resolution of 17 February 2020, as amended up to February 2023 (BOE). Four points from it matter here.

1. It records a fact. The padrón aims to reflect the address where people living in Spain actually reside. Its purpose is to record that fact, so in principle it shouldn't be distorted by whether the resident has a right to live at that address.

2. Documents are only for checking. A town hall can ask for your ID and "the title that legitimises occupation of the home" or similar documents, to check that the data you give are true (Reglamento, art. 59.2). The instructions say this power has only that purpose. Once the town hall is convinced the data match reality, it is no longer entitled to ask for further proof. And asking for that title gives the town hall no power to rule on questions of property, tenancy or other private-law matters: it is only evidence that you live where you say.

3. What can count as that title. The instructions list:

• a property title (deeds, purchase contract, a nota simple from the Land Registry, or a check of the town hall's own databases);
• a current rental contract for a home used as a habitual residence, with the latest rent receipt.

The town hall can also accept other documents after making the checks it considers appropriate (electricity or water bills, for example), and it can check by other means, such as a local police report or its own inspection, that you really live there, and if so, register you.

4. Living with someone already registered, or in a collective establishment. If people are already registered at the address, instead of a title you're asked for written authorisation from an adult registered there, who must hold a title to the home (ownership, rental...). For a collective establishment such as a residence or a convent, the authorisation is signed by the person in charge of it.

What Madrid asks for

Each town hall runs its own padrón (Ley 7/1985, art. 17.1), so procedures differ. Madrid's are on its online services site. Its list of documents includes:

1. the hoja padronal (registration form), signed by every adult being registered;
2. ID: for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, the NIE (registration number in the Central Register of Foreigners) if you have one, with your passport or national ID card; for other nationalities, a residence permit or, if you don't have one, your passport;
3. a document proving use of the home;
4. where relevant, an authorisation.

On the rental contract, Madrid says it must be:

• a current contract for a home or a room;
• signed by everyone named in it;
• for a minimum of six months;
• showing the owner's details, and if the person renting to you isn't the owner, the owner's delegation, authorisation or representation;
• showing the referencia catastral (the property's cadastral reference code), or with it in a separate document.

For extended contracts and electronically signed ones, you also bring proof of payment of the latest rent.

On short-term and tourist contracts, Madrid says the town hall can ask for additional documents in exceptional cases not covered above, and gives "tourist contracts or contracts for non-habitual residence" as an example.

If you don't have your own document, the person who holds the right to use the home can authorise your registration there by filling in the authorisation section of the form, with their own document and ID.

For a collective establishment "of a hotel, religious, military, residential or other type", the person responsible for the establishment fills in the authorisation with their details, signature and stamp.

If you can't prove where you live, Madrid says the town hall can advise you, assess your situation and, where appropriate, issue the reports needed to register you.

Two more Madrid details: registration isn't immediate, because the town hall checks the application first, and it has up to three months to decide. You can apply online with electronic ID or in person with a compulsory appointment (cita previa), by phone on 010 from the city of Madrid or 914 800 010.

What this means for your short let or serviced apartment

• In Madrid, a rental contract shorter than six months doesn't meet the contract requirement, and tourist and non-habitual-residence contracts are among the exceptional cases where the town hall can ask for more.
• Ask your accommodation whether it can sign an authorisation for you, either as the holder of the right to use the home or as the person responsible for a collective establishment.
• Take whatever shows you live there, because the national instructions let the town hall accept other documents and check by other means.

Check your own town hall

Requirements vary by ayuntamiento (town hall). The six-month rule above, for example, comes from Madrid's own requirements. Before you go, look up the padrón page on your town hall's website or call it, and ask exactly which documents it accepts for your situation.

Still searching for a longer-term flat? Before you pay anyone, read No viewing, no money. For a listing in Madrid, paste the link into the Justisimo checker: it's free, reads the ad, compares the rent with the area and looks for the patterns behind fake listings.

FAQs

Can a town hall refuse to register me because I don't own or rent the flat? The national instructions say the title is only evidence that you live there, the town hall can accept other documents, and it can check by other means, such as a police report or inspection, and register you if you do live there.

Is a room rental enough in Madrid? Madrid accepts a current contract for a home or a room, with a minimum length of six months. For a room rental, Madrid says the contract is the only proof of use you need to bring.

I'm living with a friend. Can I register at their place? Yes, with written authorisation from an adult already registered there who holds a title to the home (national instructions, section 3.1). In Madrid, the person who holds the right to use the home fills in the authorisation on the form.

I'm not from the EU. Do I need to renew? If you don't have long-term residence authorisation, yes, every two years (Ley 7/1985, art. 16.1).

---

Justisimo is an information tool, not a law firm. This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources: BOE: Ley 7/1985, Reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local · BOE: Real Decreto 1690/1986, Reglamento de Población · BOE: Resolución de 17 de febrero de 2020 (INE), consolidated · Ayuntamiento de Madrid: Empadronamiento · Ayuntamiento de Madrid: documentos que acreditan el uso de la vivienda · Justisimo