Short-term rental rules in Medellín — what changed and what it means

Foreign buyers usually ask whether short-term rental is legal in Medellín. It is the wrong question. Nightly rental is a legal commercial activity in Colombia. What decides whether you can do it in a specific apartment is the building, not the city.

The reglamento decides

Every building governed by horizontal property law has a reglamento de propiedad horizontal, registered with the deed. It defines whether units are residential, mixed or commercial in use. If it restricts use to housing, nightly rental is a breach — and enforcement is not theoretical: the administration can fine, cut access to common areas and take you to court.

An owners' assembly can amend the reglamento with the majority set out in Law 675 of 2001. A building that allows short stays today can vote to stop allowing them.

Registration is a separate obligation

• Operating tourist accommodation requires registration in the Registro Nacional de Turismo (RNT), renewed annually.
• Guest data must be reported as required of accommodation providers.
• VAT and the tourism contribution may apply depending on how you operate and your revenue.
• Platforms increasingly ask for the RNT number before allowing a listing to stay active.

What has actually shifted

The visible trend since the tourism boom is not a citywide ban. It is buildings in El Poblado and Laureles amending their reglamentos to prohibit or heavily restrict stays under thirty days, alongside firmer enforcement of RNT requirements and, in neighbouring Envigado, its own municipal position. The practical effect is that approval is becoming scarcer, and buildings that already hold it are worth more.

What to demand before buying

Ask for the current reglamento in PDF, the minutes of the last two owners' assemblies, and confirmation of any pending vote on use. A sales agent's assurance that everyone in the building rents nightly is not evidence, and it is not a defence.