Málaga city council has suspended licences for new tourist flats in the southern Spanish city, fulfilling a pledge that it would attempt to better regulate short-term accommodation in the popular tourist hotspot.
The moratorium, first announced by mayor Francisco de la Torre in 2025, approved changes to Málaga's General Urban Development Plan (PGOU).
On Friday July 24th 2026, the measure was published in Málaga provincial bulletin, confirming that the thee-year moratorium came into force on Saturday July 25th.
This means no new tourist accommodation licences will be granted in Málaga for the next three years or until new regulations are approved.
The legislation prohibits the change of use from residential to tourist accommodation and the conversion of commercial premises into such short-term lets.
FIND OUT: Why Málaga has become a victim of its own success
Reports in the Spanish press describe the new measure as the “full stop” to a series of initiatives approved by the council to limit the expansion of tourist accommodation in the Andalusian city, one of the epicentres of Spain's anti-tourism movement last year.
The decision comes after a series of steps to crackdown on short-term tourist rentals, something many locals blame for dwindling social housing stock and skyrocketing rental prices.
READ ALSO: 'Get the f*ck out of here' - Spain's Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers
Firstly, new tourist licences were banned for properties that did not have a separate entrance within the block.
Then the authorisation of new tourist flats was restricted in 43 neighbourhoods, where Airbnb-type rentals make up more than 8 percent of housing stock.
And finally, this latest measure puts an end to the issuing of tourist licences throughout the city and wider municipality.
According to the Andalusian Tourism Registry, there are currently 12,648 licenced tourist flats in Málaga city, but many hundreds or thousands more could be operating illegally.
Tourist accommodation and hotel associations have rejected Málaga's moratorium, arguing that "will not solve the problem" of housing in the Andalusian city and that will affect 3,500 jobs. In their eyes, it won't solve the underlying issues of lack of housing supply and limited construction activity due to painstakingly slow bureaucracy.
Málaga is far from the only Spanish city to try and regulate short-term tourist accommodation.
Barcelona has boldly pledged to ban all holiday apartments by 2028, and capitals like Valencia and Madrid, as well as tourist destinations like the Canary Islands, among others, have also taken steps to limit their impact on local property markets.
READ MORE: Which cities in Spain have new restrictions on tourist rentals?
Comments