Malaga gives final approval to limit tourist accommodation: no more in 43 neighbourhoods

The planning commission of Malaga town hall has given the green light to modify plans to limit tourist housing. The modification was passed with votes in favour from PP, abstention from Vox and rejection from both PSOE and Con Málaga. The decree from January this year enabled municipalities to take restrictive measures. This new motion follows pleas from the Institute of Urban Studies, Con Málaga, Izquierda Unida, the Andalusian Housing Association, the Official College of Architects, the Asociación de Vecinos Centro Antiguo and some private individuals. Outside the deadline, the Asociación de Vecinos de las Torres de Martiricos also submitted contentions.

The aim is to put a stop to tourist accommodation in areas where their share of the total residential stock is 8%. "According to the dossier, the public interest and the proportionality of the adopted measures are justified," explained councillor of city planning, Carmen Casero.

Casero reminded the council that the control of compliance is outsourced for the first year. It is essentially a matter of collecting data and monitoring the situation. "It's very important that we know the effects of this decision on the city in reality," she added.

Two of the most frequent questions in the claims referred to whether the way forward was through the modification of the plan or a new ordinance and whether the plan would be retroactive - to include expiry of licences. In response to the first question, the councillor defended the existing bill. For the second, she mentioned that it transcends municipal jurisdiction. Among the suggestions, some focused on fiscal policies. In this regard, Casero said that they will be working alongside some of the suggestions, but not under the solution approved on Monday.

The Tourist Housing Association accused the town hall of a lack of: grounds of general interest; definition; and proportionality. They asked for their own ordinance or for the clarification of the suspension of licences and registrations. On this point, Casero reiterated that 75% of city accommodation is for tourists. "This is a more than sufficient percentage to address the modification that allows us to establish control mechanisms with regard to new housing registrations," she added.

The Architects' Association wanted to reduce tourist accommodation in two zones, adopt additional indicators, better define the control system and, in addition, establish degressive measures. And the residents of the historic centre asked for a reversal of the responsible declarations, more participation space and more intense action, while also addressing the noise and damage that, in their opinion, this accommodation has caused the city and its citizens.

For Con Málaga, Toni Morillas announced that her group would vote against the modified plan. "This proposal comes late and inefficiently. And it's full of empty promises. Already 75% of tourist accommodations are in residential properties. It will not be allowed in areas like La Merced where more than 80% of rented housing is for tourists. And in reality, we won't be allowed to intervene," she said. Non-reversion is a downfall in her opinion, and she pointed out that the regulatory framework gives the city the possibility for registering 12,700 new tourist properties.

"Working class neighbourhoods such as Carretera de Cádiz are planning up to 2,400 more. La Cruz de Humilladero, 2,170. Or Bailén Miraflores, where they intend to increase by up to 1,500 new flats," she continued. "This will open the door to saturate other areas of the city. The mayor of Malaga himself came out to disavow this proposal. He announced a suspension. Months go by and we still don't know anything about it. We will continue to insist. Malaga must be declared a saturated zone. There are tools to cancel licences," she explained.

For Vox, Antonio Alcázar only intervened to abstain, while Daniel Pérez, from PSOE, announced that he would vote against. "There are 13,000 properties for tourist use. Zoning is not the right thing to do. Malaga has 590,000 inhabitants. In Barcelona there are only 8,000 VUT (houses for tourist use). There, the Generalitat and town hall have set limits and expiry dates. Not here. It is a drama, all rental prices are being inflated, why have they put the limit at 8% instead of one? And what about the areas that already have 80%, like in the historic centre?

PP is responsible for such high inflation and for the fact that 50,000 Malaga natives have left the city in the last five years," he said. "You can neither buy nor rent. Today they dismissed all our suggestions by exploiting their absolute majority and sweeping speculation under the carpet. It is a whitewash to make it look like they are doing something. Pure cynicism," he added. "Any three-bedroom house in Malaga is rented at 1,200 euros a month. No working family can afford that," he said.

Casero replied to the PSOE spokesman by claiming that the council has cancelled 750 VUTs. "Keep track of how many of those go to long-term rentals. In Spain there are 120,000 empty homes. Your housing policy has caused renting to increase by 26%. Even in Barcelona, your icon of good practice, rents have risen and 30% of rentals are temporary. I would like us to abandon this systematic confrontation. We are all facing the housing crisis. Let's not blame tourism for the problem of access to housing. And let's be rigorous with the data," she argued.

Malaga's ban on holiday homes came into force on 14 January, following the modifications being published in the official provincial newsletter. The ban prevented new holiday rentals from being registered in 43 districts of the city - where these properties account for 8% or more of the residential area.

From then on, no new tourist accommodation could be registered in 43 neighbourhoods. A study from Urbanismo classified these districts as saturated when holiday rentals exceeded 8% of total residency. A second zone was established, made up of 32 neighbourhoods with tourist housing equal to or higher than 4.53%; and a third zone below 4.53%. In these zones, new registrations will only be allowed up until the 8% cap.

The areas in which new tourist lodgings are already prohibited are: the Historic Centre; El Ejido; La Merced; Lagunillas; Capuchinos; El Molinillo; Ensanche del Centro; La Goleta; San Felipe Neri; La Trinidad; Conde Ureña; Cristo de la Epidemia; La Victoria; Ventaja Alta; Campos Elíseos; Cañada de los Ingleses; La Malagueta; Perchel Norte; Plaza de Toros Vieja; El Candado; El Chanquete; El Palo beaches; Camino del Colmenar; Peinado Grande; Santa Paula-Miramar; Baños del Carmen; La Viña; Las Acacias; Pedregalejo beach; Torre de San Telmo; Pinares de San Antón; Martiricos; Málaga 2000; Torre del Río; Torres de la Serna; Pacífico; Santa Isabel; Tabacalera; Guadalmar; La Cizaña; and the outlying areas of Puerto de la Torre.