Spain's competition watchdog questions legality of Malaga's regulations governing tourist flats

According to the sector, these measures have already affected around 1,000 properties that were in operation at that time. The city council's request to the regional government to revoke their licences has left them in a legal limbo.

However, in recent weeks, several reports, requested by AVVAPro (the Andalusian association of tourist accommodation) have cast doubt on the legality of these regulations. AVVAPro has already made the reports available to tourist flat owners so that they could use them as evidence in legal proceedings against the city council.

To make matters worse, the general moratorium on new tourist developments the city council approved this past summer is based on the assumption that the initial ruling was valid. Consequently, this will also have a knock-on effect on the most recent regulation.

The reports refer to instruction 1/2024, which extended the planning requirements for accommodation, including access, evacuation routes and facilities separate from the rest of the building. Although these documents do not in themselves overturn that order, they do carry considerable legal weight, as they originate from the public bodies responsible for market regulation.

With regard to tourism-related activities that began before the municipal regulation was adopted, the document states that it must be assessed whether the criteria were "previously clear, accessible, known and foreseeable to operators".

The CNMC's report states: "Restrictions on the economic activity of tourist accommodation (VUT) cannot be introduced through interpretative instruments of the regulations. (...) This would have to be carried out by means of the appropriate regulatory instrument, which would be an amendment to Malaga's general urban development plan (PGOU)."

The secretariat for market unity also calls for a more rigorous justification: "It would be advisable for the competent authority to justify the regulation adopted in greater detail, through a detailed analysis of the areas affected."

In conclusion, these documents that originate from the highest Andalusian and national authorities on markets and competition, seriously call into question the legal provisions that the city council is using to curb the number of holiday lets in the city.

From August 2025, no new holiday accommodation may be registered in Malaga city. The suspension is currently in place for a maximum of three years, until the summer of 2028 (or until the amendment to the general urban development plan is approved).

This decision was prompted by the fact that, in the preceding months, there had been an exponential increase in the number of districts experiencing more than eight per cent tourist pressure.

Existing licences remain valid and the only legal option for new establishments to operate without a licence is to offer medium-term stays (more than two months). Furthermore, since July 2026, operators have not been able to register any new accommodation on residential land. 

AVVAPro and Aehcos have put forward a series of objections, calling for greater rigour in the data and transparency and for the restrictions not to unfairly penalise the regulated sector compared to the residential or hotel sectors. Furthermore, they predict that this measure will not serve to resolve the problem with the lack of affordable housing.

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