Vacation Rental Agreement Mexico (Contrato de Arrendamiento Vacacional)

A Vacation Rental Agreement Mexico (Contrato de Arrendamiento Vacacional) is a written short-term lease contract between a property owner (arrendador) and a guest (arrendatario or huésped) granting temporary use and enjoyment of a furnished vacation property — beach house (casa de playa), condo (departamento vacacional), villa, or cabin (cabaña) — for a defined short-term period, typically days to weeks, in exchange for a nightly or weekly rental fee (tarifa de renta vacacional). The agreement is governed principally by Código Civil Federal (CCF) Article 2398, which defines the arrendamiento framework applicable to all temporary grants of use and enjoyment, and by the Ley Federal de Turismo (LFT) and its Reglamento, which establish the regulatory framework for tourism accommodation services in Mexico.

Vacation rental properties in Mexico operate in a distinct legal space that intersects property law (CCF Articles 2398 through 2496), tourism law (Ley Federal de Turismo administered by the Secretaría de Turismo — SECTUR), tax law (LISR and Ley del IVA for commercial rental operators), and increasingly, municipal regulations that vary significantly between popular tourist destinations such as Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, Tulum, Mazatlán, and Mexico City. The Ley Federal de Turismo Article 5 defines servicios turísticos to include the temporary rental of furnished properties to tourists, subjecting professional vacation rental operators to SECTUR registration requirements and quality standards.

Under the Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (LIVA) Article 29, the temporary grant of use of furnished real property for periods of less than one month constitutes a service subject to 16% IVA (Impuesto al Valor Agregado) — a critical distinction from long-term residential leases, which are exempt from IVA under LIVA Article 20 when rented for periods exceeding one month for residential use. Vacation rental operators who habitually rent properties for periods of less than one month must register as IVA taxpayers with the SAT and collect 16% IVA on each rental, issue CFDIs, and file bimestral or monthly IVA declarations.

For income tax purposes under LISR Article 114, vacation rental income constitutes ingresos por arrendamiento subject to ISR. Operators who use platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, or Booking.com must declare platform income to the SAT — these platforms provide annual income summaries (constancias de ingresos) and in some cases make direct payments to the SAT on behalf of hosts through agreements with Mexico's tax authority under the Convenio de Colaboración Airbnb-SAT framework established in 2020. The Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC) of the property owner and proper CFDI issuance remain mandatory regardless of platform-facilitated tax reporting.

The zona restringida rules under Article 27 of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos and the Ley de Inversión Extranjera are particularly relevant for vacation rental properties in coastal destinations — foreign owners of beach properties in the 50-kilometre coastal zone must hold their property through a fideicomiso bancario (bank trust) authorised by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE), and the fideicomiso agreement governs who may legally execute vacation rental contracts on behalf of the foreign owner. Mexican vacation rental managers and property management companies (administradoras de propiedades) acting on behalf of foreign owners should hold a valid poder notarial from the fideicomisario (trust beneficiary) authorising rental operations.

Municipal lodging taxes (impuesto de hospedaje or derechos de hospedaje) are levied in most major Mexican tourist states — Quintana Roo imposes a 3% hospedaje tax on vacation rental income; Jalisco (Puerto Vallarta) and Baja California Sur (Los Cabos) impose similar rates. These taxes are collected by the state Secretaría de Finanzas and must be remitted separately from ISR and IVA.

A Vacation Rental Agreement Mexico is required whenever a property owner rents a furnished property to a guest for a short-term period — typically less than one month — for tourism, recreation, or temporary accommodation purposes, rather than for the guest's established principal residence. Without a written vacation rental agreement, the property owner has no documented basis for enforcing house rules, damage deposits, cancellation policies, or check-in and check-out procedures.

The Contrato de Arrendamiento Vacacional is needed when a Mexican property owner lists a beach house, condo, or villa on a short-term rental platform such as Airbnb, VRBO, or Booking.com and wishes to supplement the platform's standard terms with a Mexico-specific written contract that addresses local legal requirements including IVA obligations under LIVA Article 29, SECTUR registration status, and municipal hospedaje tax compliance.

The agreement is required when a foreign property owner holding a coastal property through a fideicomiso bancario rents the property to guests and must document both the fideicomisario's authority to execute rental contracts and the rental income flow through the fideicomiso structure. The fideicomiso bank's consent may be required for commercial vacation rental operations under some fideicomiso agreements — property owners should review their fideicomiso contract with a notario público before commencing rental operations.

A vacation rental agreement is also required when a property management company (administradora) rents on behalf of the property owner under a property management agreement (contrato de administración de propiedades) — the vacation rental contract must identify whether the management company is contracting in its own name (as principal) or as agent (mandatario) of the property owner, with distinct tax consequences for each arrangement.

Property owners in Mexico's top vacation destinations — Cancún, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, and Mexico City's historic centre — face additional local regulatory requirements including municipal operaciones de hospedaje registration and, in Quintana Roo, state Ley de Turismo licensing. A written vacation rental agreement documents compliance with these local requirements and provides both owner and guest with a legally enforceable record of the agreed terms under CCF Article 2398.

Under CCF Article 2398, the Ley Federal de Turismo, LIVA Article 29, and LISR Article 114, both property owner and guest benefit from a written vacation rental agreement that documents the rental period, nightly rate in MXN or USD, damage deposit, house rules, cancellation policy, maximum occupancy, IVA treatment, and check-in procedures — creating enforceable rights that protect both parties throughout the rental period.

A valid Vacation Rental Agreement Mexico under CCF Article 2398, the Ley Federal de Turismo, and applicable state civil codes must contain the following essential elements to protect the property owner and guest and to satisfy tax reporting, SECTUR, and municipal lodging tax requirements.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC, and official identity document of the arrendador (property owner or management company). For the arrendatario (guest), full name and passport or INE/IFE number — foreign guests' passport numbers serve as their identity document in Mexico. If a property management company contracts as agent for the property owner, the poder notarial authorising the management company to execute rental contracts on the owner's behalf should be referenced.

Property Description and Location: Complete address of the vacation property including calle, colonia, municipio, estado, and código postal. For coastal properties in the zona restringida, the fideicomiso number and name of the trustee bank (institución fiduciaria) should be included to document the owner's legal right to rent the property. Key features — number of bedrooms, bathrooms, pool, beach access, included amenities — clarify what is included in the rental rate.

Rental Period: Specific check-in date and time and check-out date and time. The precise definition of the rental period is critical because LIVA Article 29 applies the 16% IVA to rentals of less than one calendar month — the agreement must state the exact duration to determine IVA applicability. Overstay conditions and associated fees should be specified.

Rental Rate and Payment Terms: The agreed nightly or weekly rate, total rental fee for the period, and accepted payment methods. Vacation rental rates may be denominated in USD under the Ley Monetaria de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos when rented to international tourists, with payment at the tipo de cambio FIX rate published by Banco de México (Banxico). The applicable IVA (16% for rentals under one month) must be stated separately from the base rental rate.

Damage Deposit (Depósito de Garantía): The amount of the security deposit held for the duration of the stay to cover potential damage to the property or furnishings beyond ordinary use. The conditions for retention, the inspection procedure at check-out, and the timeline for return (typically 48 to 72 hours after check-out and property inspection) must be stated clearly.

House Rules (Reglamento de la Propiedad): Maximum occupancy (aforo máximo), noise restrictions and quiet hours, no-smoking policy, pet policy, parking rules, pool and amenity safety rules, and any condominium complex regulations (reglamento del condominio) that apply. Violations of house rules may trigger forfeiture of the damage deposit or early termination of the rental.

Cancellation Policy: Clear cancellation terms — whether the booking is refundable, partially refundable, or non-refundable depending on the notice period before the check-in date. Cancellation policies for vacation rentals in Mexico are not specifically regulated by the CCF and are freely agreed by the parties, but must comply with PROFECO standards if the arrendador qualifies as a proveedor de servicios turísticos under the Ley Federal de Protección al Consumidor.

SECTUR Registration and Municipal Hospedaje Tax: Statement of the property's SECTUR registration number (if the owner is registered as a tourism accommodation provider) and acknowledgment of the applicable municipal hospedaje tax rate — e.g., 3% in Quintana Roo, 3% in Jalisco — and whether this tax is included in the quoted rate or billed separately to the guest.

IVA and CFDI Obligations: Statement of the applicable 16% IVA for rentals under one month (LIVA Article 29) and the landlord's obligation to issue a CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) for each rental payment received, using the SAT-authorised billing platform, to comply with SAT requirements under CFF Article 29-A.

forms-legal.com provides this Vacation Rental Agreement Mexico template as a practical starting point. Mexican vacation rental law — particularly regarding IVA applicability, SECTUR registration requirements, coastal zone fideicomiso restrictions, and municipal hospedaje taxes — varies significantly by state and municipality. Every vacation rental property owner should consult a notario público, a licensed Licenciado en Derecho, and a contador público autorizado (CPA) familiar with tourism taxation in the relevant municipality before commencing rental operations.