Spain: Málaga suspends new tourist accommodation licenses

published on 16 September 2025 | reading time approx. 2 minutes

The city of Málaga has taken decisive action to regulate its booming tourist accommodation market (“viviendas de uso turístico"; “VUT"), aligning itself with other major Spanish cities striving to balance tourism growth with residents' access to affordable housing.

Currently, Málaga holds the highest density of VUTs in Spain, with approximately 19 units per square kilometer. In some streets of the historic center, more than half of the housing stock is dedicated to tourist rentals. This saturation has contributed to rising property prices, social tensions, and challenges to neighborhood cohesion.

In response, the City Council has enacted a temporary suspension on new VUT licenses. Effective from Saturday, 23 August 2025, a three-year moratorium is now in place, halting both the issuance and registration of new tourist accommodations across the municipality. This measure forms part of a broader reform of the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), officially published on 22 August in the Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Málaga (BOPMA), The reform aims to adapt land use regulations to Málaga's evolving social and economic landscape.

The moratorium is grounded in “compelling reasons of general interest” and is legally supported by Article 6.2. of Andalusia’s Decree Law 1/2025¹, which empowers municipalities to suspend VUT licensing for up to three years — a provision Málaga has now exercised.

A shifting legal landscape

As discussed in our previous article on VUT regulation, Spain's legal framework for tourist rentals remains fragmented, with significant variation across autonomous communities and municipalities. The European Union's proposed regulation on short-term rentals seeks to harmonize this patchwork by introducing mandatory registries and enhanced oversight mechanisms.

Málaga's move can be seen as a robust local response to the limitations of national and regional regulatory tools. Mayor Francisco de la Torre has emphasized the need to “pause, assess, and reflect" in order to develop an urban model that balances tourism with sustainable residential living. Key goals include formally distinguishing tourist use from residential use, setting specific conditions for tourist accommodations, and establishing a clear legal framework for licensing, zoning, and enforcement.

Implications for investors and residents

For the duration of the moratorium, no new VUT licenses will be granted or registered in Málaga. Investors must now navigate stricter urban planning requirements and can only acquire properties with existing, valid VUT licenses. Projects already underway must comply with current regulations, and speculative investments based on future tourist use will face significant limitations.

Residents, meanwhile, may benefit from a cooling of the property market, though the extent of this impact will depend on the effective implementation of the PGOU reform and broader housing policy measures.

¹Article 6.2. Decree Law 1/2025 of Andalusia: "In accordance with the provisions of urban planning regulations, the local council [...] may agree to suspend licences and declarations of responsibility for tourist accommodation, either for the entire municipal area or for specific areas or types of buildings, provided that the necessity and proportionality of such a measure is justified. Exceptionally, for compelling reasons of general interest, this measure may be adopted, prior to initial approval, in the agreement initiating the procedure for drawing up the urban planning instrument, with a maximum suspension period of three years. Suspension agreements shall be notified to the competent regional ministry for tourism for the purposes of the Andalusian tourism register."