Laurence Dollimore
MALAGA has announced a fresh crackdown on tourist accommodation following a wave of protests by fed-up locals.
Headlines around the world have dubbed the new policy as a ‘tourist ban’, despite the law having no direct impact on holidaymakers – so what does it entail?
READ MORE: Barcelona will ban ALL tourist flats by 2028
Anyone visiting the Costa del Sol city can continue to book hotels, Airbnbs and holiday apartments as before.
The new legislation is only targeting holiday flats that were registered after February 22, 2024, and which do not have entrances and utilities that are separate to those of permanent residents.
The affected properties will reportedly have their licences to act as tourist rentals cancelled.
The measure applies to all 43 districts of Malaga city and is in place for at least the next three years. It does not affect the rest of the Costa del Sol, such as Marbella or Estepona.
The policy, by design, will hit the least well off Airbnb users the most, as it will essentially render the ‘private room’ option obsolete.
The ‘private room’ option sees homeowners rent out one of their bedrooms to holidaymakers, often to help pay the bills.
The move comes after massive protests in the country’s most saturated tourism hotspots, including Malaga, Tenerife, Barcelona, Mallorca and Sevilla.
Such cities have announced their own measures against Airbnb-style properties over the past 12 months.
Barcelona took the most drastic route, announcing that it will retroactively ban all tourism flats by 2028.
Sevilla has also banned new tourist flats in its historical centre and in several of its most ‘saturated’ neighbourhoods.
