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Vacation rentals in Quintana Roo: without RETUR-Q registration you will not be able to list

From 2026, platforms will only list rentals with state registration, and fines start in January. What RETUR-Q is and what to check if you buy to rent.

By Homero·3 min read·Published: December 9, 2025
Vacation rentals in Quintana Roo: without RETUR-Q registration you will not be able to list

For whom

Anyone renting a property through platforms in Quintana Roo, or buying to do so.

Quintana Roo's State Tourism Registry, RETUR-Q, has existed since August 2022. In February 2024 the state congress amended the Tourism Law to define more precisely who must register, and vacation rentals are included.

In late November, the state tourism secretary, Bernardo Cueto, announced that from 2026 platforms will only be able to list a property if it has the state registration. By his numbers, there were just over 3,000 registered providers, compared with about 40,000 properties identified as vacation rentals. And starting in January, fines begin for those who do not comply.

If you rent your property through a platform, or want to buy a property to rent out, this affects you directly.

What it is and what it costs

  • It is a registry run by the state tourism ministry for anyone providing tourism services, and vacation rentals are included.
  • The registration certificate is free and is processed online through the ministry's portal.
  • To register, you are asked, among other things, for your Mexican tax ID (RFC) and your state operating license.
  • Anyone who does not register faces fines of more than 102,000 pesos, as the ministry announced in 2024.

What changes if you buy to rent

  1. Before signing, check whether the condo's bylaws allow vacation rentals. State registration does not override the building's rules.
  2. If the property is already rented, ask for the current owner's RETUR-Q certificate and check whose name it is in.
  3. Add the cost of compliance to your numbers: lodging taxes, tax obligations and, if you use a property manager, their commission.
  4. If the return only works without registering or paying taxes, it is not a good deal.

In our guide on net returns in the Riviera Maya we explain what a rental really leaves after expenses.

Our take

Formalizing vacation rentals will push out part of the supply that operated without rules. For anyone who buys well and rents by the book, that is not bad news: you compete with fewer people, under the same rules.

If you already rent through a platform and are not sure your registration is in order, write to us and we will tell you where to start.

Sources