Málaga tightens rules for new tourist accommodation in residential areas

Málaga is preparing to introduce tougher rules for tourist accommodation in an attempt to protect residential buildings and limit the opening of new properties in areas primarily intended for housing.

The Local Government Board has started the process of amending Málaga’s General Urban Development Plan, known as the PGOU, to remove the automatic right to establish tourist accommodation on residential plots and inside residential buildings.

The measure will not apply only to holiday rental properties. It will also cover hotels, aparthotels, hostels, guest houses, youth hostels and tourist apartment complexes seeking to open in areas classified for residential use.

What will change for new tourist accommodation in Málaga

Until now, Málaga’s urban planning regulations allowed hospitality use to replace residential use or coexist with it under certain conditions.

Under the proposed rules, tourist accommodation will generally be considered incompatible with areas governed by residential planning regulations.

The restriction will affect different parts of the city, including the historic centre, closed-block developments, open-plan residential areas, garden suburbs, detached housing estates, terraced housing developments and traditional residential neighbourhoods.

This does not necessarily amount to a complete ban. Projects may still be considered individually, but promoters will have to demonstrate that the development responds to an urban need and provides a clear public benefit.

They will also need to complete a planning procedure specifically authorising the change of use, either through a detailed planning study or a formal amendment to the General Urban Development Plan.

Hotels and tourist apartments will also be affected

One of the main changes is that the new regulation will not be limited to holiday homes advertised through short-term rental platforms.

Málaga City Council intends to apply the same planning criteria to all types of tourist accommodation operating on residential land. As a result, new hotels, hostels and tourist apartment buildings will also require specific approval when the main permitted use of the plot is residential.

The aim is to prevent entire residential buildings from being automatically converted into tourist accommodation without first assessing the impact on the neighbourhood, the availability of housing and the balance between residents and visitors.

New applications could be suspended for up to three years

The new conditions will take effect once the proposal receives initial approval from Málaga City Council and the agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Málaga.

From that point onwards, licence and authorisation applications submitted after publication may be suspended for a maximum of three years if they do not comply with the proposed regulations.

The suspension could end earlier if the final amendment to the PGOU comes into force before the three-year period expires.

Applications submitted before the publication date will continue to be processed under the rules that applied when they were filed. The measure will also not automatically cancel tourist accommodation that already holds the necessary permits.

Málaga suspended new holiday rental registrations in 2025

The amendment forms part of a wider municipal strategy that has been introduced gradually since 2024.

The first stage required new holiday rental properties located inside residential apartment blocks to have independent access, facilities and utility services.

The City Council later banned new registrations in 43 neighbourhoods where holiday rentals represented more than 8% of the total housing stock. In other residential areas, properties were still required to have separate entrances and services.

On 23 August 2025, a wider suspension on new holiday rental registrations came into force across the entire municipality. The moratorium may remain in place for up to three years or end once the final planning amendment is approved.

More neighbourhoods are experiencing high tourism pressure

The growth of short-term holiday rentals has been particularly noticeable in Málaga’s historic centre and in several coastal districts.

A municipal study counted 11,559 registered holiday rental properties in Málaga in 2024, with 7,035 of them operating through online platforms. Together, these properties accounted for almost 75% of the city’s tourist accommodation capacity, while the central district contained approximately 65% of the overall supply.

Later studies showed that the number of neighbourhoods where holiday rentals exceeded 8% of the housing stock had increased from 43 in 2024 to 53 by July 2025. A further 29 neighbourhoods were close to reaching that threshold.

The City Council argues that this growth makes it necessary to update a planning framework approved in 2011, before the current expansion of short-term rental platforms and new accommodation models could have been anticipated.

Stricter rules for converting commercial premises into homes

The urban planning reform will also make it more difficult to convert ground-floor commercial premises into residential properties.

Changes of use will not be authorised for premises located on streets classified as primary or secondary routes under the PGOU, or for properties with a direct entrance or frontage onto a public square.

Properties that remain eligible for conversion will have to meet stricter habitability requirements. These include a maximum ratio between the depth of the premises and the width of its façade to ensure sufficient natural light.

Additional conditions will cover ceiling height, direct outdoor ventilation and the layout of mezzanine floors. The aim is to prevent the creation of poorly lit interior homes while preserving commercial activity on the city’s main streets and squares.

What property owners and investors should consider

Anyone considering buying a property to operate as tourist accommodation will need to check both its registration status and its compatibility with local planning rules.

Owning a home or commercial unit in an area popular with visitors will not guarantee that it can legally be used as a holiday rental. Owners will also need to review the permitted use under the PGOU, the rules of the homeowners’ association and the tourism authorisations required by the Andalusian regional government.

The new regulation applies only to the municipality of Málaga. Other towns along the Costa del Sol continue to operate under their own planning regulations and may impose different requirements on holiday rentals and tourist accommodation.

Full details of the amendment, the suspension period and the applications excluded from the new restrictions are available in the official announcement published by Málaga City Council.