With partial rules
Coliving regulation in Andalusia, Spain: Act 5/2025 defines it and leaves the rest to regulations (2026)
Yes and no. Ley 5/2025, de 16 de diciembre, de Vivienda de Andalucía (Andalusian Housing Act 5/2025), in force since 24 January 2026, defines coliving using that very word: private units that are not complete homes, for temporary residence, with common services and run by a single professional or business operator (Art. 4(j)). What it does not do is set floor areas or conditions: it leaves them to regulations that have not been issued. Until then, each municipality's plan governs.
The general guide to coliving regulation in Spain →
The short answer
Andalusia has something none of the other seven regions in this series has: an act that writes the word coliving into its articles (in the Balearic Islands it only appears in the preamble). But a definition is not a regime. Act 5/2025 says what coliving is, how it differs from cohousing and who runs it; it does not say how many square metres each unit needs, which licence is required, or how long the "temporary residence" lasts. All of that is left to regulations.
That is why this page is one of partial rules: the figure exists and is residential use, but until there are regulations, how a project fits is decided by each municipality's planning. Neither the Andalusian planning act (LISTA, Act 7/2021) nor its regulations (Decree 550/2022) contain the word "coliving" or the expression "residencial comunitario".
What the rule says
Art. 4(j) of Act 5/2025 (BOJA no. 247 of 24 December 2025) creates community residential use, a "tipología dentro del uso residencial" (type within residential use) for people who want to live together as a community in a shared space prepared for their needs. It has three forms:
- Cohousing: units that are complete homes, with collective ownership of the property and self-management.
- Coliving: private units that are not complete homes, for temporary residence, run by a single professional or business operator.
- Flexliving: like coliving, but its units "pueden o no" (may or may not) be complete homes. More in flex living.
Coliving: modalidad residencial compuesta por unidades habitacionales privativas que no constituyen viviendas completas, con la superficie mínima que se determine reglamentariamente, destinadas a la residencia temporal, así como por servicios y estancias comunes. Se caracteriza por su gestión por operador único de carácter profesional o empresarial. ("Coliving: a residential form made up of private living units that are not complete homes, with the minimum floor area to be set by regulations, intended for temporary residence, together with common services and rooms. It is characterised by being run by a single operator of a professional or business nature.")
It is the only definition in this series that requires a single operator: in Madrid, Catalonia or the Canary Islands the rule asks for no manager. And the "unidad habitacional" (living unit) is, under Art. 4(i), the space in a building for exclusively private residential use, which may be a complete home or only the residential part of a building with collective services.
The act returns to the figure in three places: the right to housing includes types such as "cohousing, coliving" (Art. 5(2)(a)); priority housing areas may include building or refurbishing "residencial comunitario" (Art. 21(2)); and protected accommodation for priority groups could include forms of community residential use under rental or temporary assignment of use (Art. 55(4)).
The conditions
The list is short here because the act leaves it open.
| Condition | What the act says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Use | Residential: community use is a type of residential use | Art. 4(j) |
| Private unit | Not a complete home; minimum floor area "que se determine reglamentariamente" (to be set by regulations) | Art. 4(j) |
| Common areas | Common services and rooms, with no floor area set | Art. 4(j) |
| Management | A single operator, professional or business | Art. 4(j) |
| Stay | "Residencia temporal" (temporary residence), with no term | Art. 4(j) |
| Licence and planning | No specific licence; each municipality's plan applies | LISTA and Decree 550/2022, no mention |
Source: Andalusian Housing Act 5/2025, BOJA no. 247 of 24 December 2025.
The act came into force one month after its publication (eighth final provision). The consolidated BOE text includes the correction published in BOJA no. 49 of 12 March 2026.
What the rule does not say
Worth knowing
What is missing is exactly what decides whether a project goes ahead: floor areas, a specific licence, the length of the "temporary residence" and how it fits into general plans; meanwhile, each municipal plan still governs. Nor should the definition be read as permission to build units of any size: the minimum floor area is in the act, referred to regulations that have not been issued.
What practical effect a legal definition without regulations has today, in each municipality, could not be verified.
What doesn't change
The contract with the resident and the obligations of running the operation do not depend on the region, and they are in the general guide to coliving regulation in Spain. To choose between a residential tenancy and another use, see LAU: residential or other use.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a coliving act in Andalusia?
There is a legal definition. Article 4(j) of Andalusian Housing Act 5/2025, in force since 24 January 2026, defines coliving as a form of community residential use. But it leaves the minimum floor area to regulations that have not been issued and sets no licence or length of stay, so the full regime does not exist.
What is the minimum floor area of a coliving unit in Andalusia?
The act does not set one. Article 4(j) speaks of private living units with the minimum floor area to be set by regulations, and those regulations have not been issued. Meanwhile, the conditions of each project come from the planning and bylaws of the municipality where the building stands.
Does a coliving space in Andalusia need an operator?
Under the definition, yes. Article 4(j) says coliving is characterised by being run by a single operator of a professional or business nature, just like flexliving. If the property is collectively owned, self-managed and its units are complete homes, the act itself calls it cohousing, which is another form of community residential use.
How long can a stay last?
The act does not say. Article 4(j) speaks of units intended for temporary residence, without setting a minimum or a maximum. The length is set by the contract, and the contract is governed by the Urban Leases Act according to what the person lives there for, as in any other region.
Can a coliving space be protected housing in Andalusia?
The act leaves the door open. Article 55(4) includes protected accommodation for priority groups with transitional housing needs and says that forms of community residential use under rental or temporary assignment of use could be included within it. The conditions depend on its classification under regional rules.
Other regions
- MadridRules of its own since November 2023: the "residencia compartida" (shared residence) of the General Plan's Planning Rules, a residential use allowed only in a dedicated building.
- CataloniaRules of its own since December 2020: housing with complementary common spaces under Llei 18/2007, with a certificate of occupancy and no horizontal division of the building.
- Valencian CommunityPartial rules: Act 3/2023 only regulates not-for-profit collaborative housing; operator-run coliving has no figure of its own, and the city of València is processing it in its General Plan.
- GaliciaRules of its own since 1 January 2026: shared accommodation under Act 8/2012, by public or private developers and with 30 m² of usable area per unit.
- Balearic IslandsRules of its own since May 2024: housing with complementary common spaces under Llei 5/2018, with a single certificate of occupancy for the building and no horizontal property.
- Basque CountryPartial rules: Decree 80/2022 only sets the habitability of collaborative housing; use, licensing and the contract have no rule of their own.
- Canary IslandsRules of its own since February 2024: housing with complementary common spaces under Act 2/2003 and the floor areas of Decree-Law 1/2024, with regulations pending.