Dilip Kuner
MALAGA has slammed the brakes on the city’s booming holiday flat market – banning the registration of any new tourist apartments for the next three years.
Mayor Francisco de la Torre announced the move as part of a wider shake-up of the city’s urban planning rules, which come into force this Thursday (August 14).
The move had been previously announced, but needed to be published in the official bulletin. Now the council will no longer register any new tourist flats.
The clampdown follows a recent provincial decree targeting 43 neighbourhoods deemed ‘saturated’ with holiday lets. The council had already moved last year to block flats without independent entrances and services.
De la Torre says the aim is to better organise Málaga’s tourism and prevent it from creating ‘collateral problems’ for residents. The freeze is also intended to boost traditional housing and encourage alternatives such as coliving, flexliving and cohousing.
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The mayor wants a national legal framework to tackle the issue, stressing that this isn’t just a local problem. He also called for ‘serious consideration’ of new five-star hotels offering well-paid local jobs, aiming to attract high-quality tourism and retain Malaga talent.
There have been protests in cities including Malaga, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca in recent months about housing shortages, with the boom in holiday rentals being blamed.
Meanwhile, new rules will cover all types of tourist accommodation – from hotels to student residences – and adapt the city’s planning framework to future trends like long-stay tourism, experiential travel and digital nomadism.
Figures show the number of districts under ‘tourist pressure’ has jumped from 43 to 53 since 2024, now representing nearly 17% of Malaga’s 317 residential neighbourhoods.
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