A study reveals that 16.6% of Airbnb listings in Mallorca lack a license number. Palma and Calvià have the highest percentages of unlicensed accommodations.
The Airbnb platform hosts 2,469 listings in Mallorca that do not display any regional license number, according to a comparison of official data with those published on the website. This figure represents 16.6% of the total 14,901 active listings detected on the island.
The Consell de Mallorca maintains a registry of 16,811 licensed tourist homes, which total 103,874 places. However, the comparison with the actual online offer reveals discrepancies: not all licensed properties are advertised, and some listings correspond to rentals not subject to tourist licensing.
Palma is the municipality where the difference is most pronounced. Of the 982 listings located in the capital, 562 lack a license number, accounting for 57% of the total. Following is Calvià, with 44% of listings without visible identification, and Santanyí, with 203 cases.
At the other end are Pollença and Alcudia, where only about 6% of listings lack a visible license. Pollença leads the number of authorized tourist homes on the island, with 2,459, followed by Alcudia (1,420) and Santanyí (1,275). Palma, despite being the most populated municipality, only has 628 licenses due to restrictions implemented since 2018 that limit tourist rentals in multi-family buildings.
Of the total listings without a visible license, 1,511 are presented as exempt seasonal rentals, 476 show only the state registration, and 482 provide no form of identification. The study also notes that over 95% of active listings allow bookings of less than 30 nights, and the vast majority correspond to entire homes.
The vacation rental market in Mallorca has experienced a decline in recent years. According to the INE, homes published on platforms fell from 20,196 in 2020 to 14,756 in May 2026, a decrease of 27%. This decline coincides with the moratorium approved in 2022, which halted the granting of new licenses after the strong growth recorded between 2015 and 2017.
For residents of Mallorca, the proliferation of unlicensed listings poses a challenge for regulating the tourist market and access to housing. Island authorities have intensified controls, but identifying illegal accommodations remains complex. The Consell de Mallorca reminds tenants that they can verify whether a property has a license by consulting the official registry.
The situation reflects the tension between legal supply and that which operates outside the regulations, a phenomenon that particularly affects the more touristy municipalities. While Palma and Calvià record the highest non-compliance rates, towns like Pollença and Alcudia maintain better control thanks to a higher proportion of authorized homes.
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