One-off tenant in propoerty, is it worth it?

My Spanish property is presently a holiday home. We bought it foir this purpose (and with the intention of making it a permanent home when we retiure, but that is still about 20 years away and would probably require an extension of some sort). When we bought it we did briefly toy with the idea of letting it as a holiday property during the time we weren't there. But we soon discarded this idea as we wanted the house to feel lie a home and didn't want to start locking away our valuables and personal items or worrying what careless tenants were going to do with them. So basically, whenever we're not there, the house is locked and nothing happens.

Recently I was approached by a German friend. He is going on an all-expenses payed professional Spanish course in Alicante lasting aboiut 2 months and looking for a place to live. He is a very trustworthy person and we'd be comfortable letting him use the house.  However, he doesn't want to live for free but wants to pay the market rent (which is employer would reimburse).

Whereas a bit of extra money wouldn't hurt, the idea has raised some red flags

1) we have heard about lots of new and stricter laws about rentals, including inspections etc. Would these also apply for a one-off rental such as this?

2) taxes. I guess the income would be taxable in Spain and we'd have to file a tax declaration for this. I'm not against paying taxes on principle, but the question is, is the hassle worth it.

3) as he can recover his expenses, I guess our friend will want proper invoices with IVA number etc. Ditto, hassle etc. Or is there some minimal income that can legally fly under the radar? How would I certify this?

On account of all these concerns, I am tending towards either letting him stay free as a guest, or if he really insists on paying, encouraging him to find a commercial rental property in the area (there are plenty).

Am I being too narrow-minded or strict here. Anybody have comparable experiences?

Understand your uncertainty - went through a similar thought process myself.  I decided against renting as too much hassle and faffing about, you lose your "home" and you are obliged to furnish differently.  The fact that rental rates are so cheap and uncertainty of a reasonably full calendar was also a factor.

But in your situation I would be tempted to take the dosh and not declare it - particularly if you can do so casually without an invoice.  We already pay the presumed "income tax" when there isn't one, so why not!

Have to agree with Acer. I would just charge a nominal rent to cover the extra expense. I certainly wouldn't go through all the faff of registering etc.

GB  I certainly wouldn't go through all the faff of registering etc.

(I do not claim any particular knowledge on letting).

However the new rules on letting only apply to lets of less than 2 months.

I do not believe  long term lets, which do not involved a third party such as an agency,  involve charging IVA.

The tax return should be simple.  Just get a gestor to do it, cost should be about 50 euros for the annual declaration.

I also believe you can offset certain expenses and ‘non resident’  tax (210).

The gestor should be able to advise you

If you trust the friend to pay on time and not cause any damage, I would think letting is a good idea in your circumstances.

(I do not claim any particular knowledge on letting) x2!

I don't think the new holiday lettings would affect you anyway, since you're not advertising the property for rent. But as John says, more than 2 months, you can forget all that anyway.

Tax: presumably you're already filing your 210 non-resident declaration, so it's just a case of declaring actual income instead of imputed.

A simple receipt (no IVA chargeable) from you should be sufficient for your friend to get his expenses reimbursed.