Nearly 10,300 tourist flat licences have been cancelled across Andalucia since 2024 as part of a sweeping crackdown led by the regional government in partnership with local councils.
The figures, released by the Junta’s Directorate General for Tourism Planning, show Malaga has seen the largest number of cancellations, with 3,812 homes removed from the register, including 1,280 in the provincial capital.
Granada ranks second with 1,807 cancellations, nearly 1,000 of them in the city itself, while Cadiz follows with 1,352, of which 471 were in the capital.
Sevilla province has also surpassed the thousand mark, with 1,198 properties struck off, the vast majority (1,067) located in the capital city.
Elsewhere, Almeria has recorded 686 cancellations (121 in its capital), Cordoba 679 (569 in the city), Huelva 403 (just 52 in the capital), and Jaen 329 (80 in the capital).
Taken together, provincial capitals account for 45% of all cancellations.
Junta defends ‘resident-first’ tourism model
Tourism councillor Arturo Bernal said the results prove that the region’s approach is ‘not only designed for the visitor’ but also places the resident ‘at the heart of policy-making.’
The clampdown has been carried out in coordination with city halls, which hold responsibility for shaping their urban models.
So far, six agreements have been signed with the councils of Sevilla, Granada, Malaga, Cadiz, Jerez, and Almeria, with further deals under discussion in Cordoba, El Puerto de Santa Maria, and Alhaurin el Grande.
National silence
Bernal also criticised the Spanish government for failing to convene a sectoral conference on the proliferation of tourist rentals, despite repeated requests from Andalucia over the past three years.
‘It is surprising how little weight tourism seems to have at central government level, despite being one of Spain’s leading industries,’ he said.
Stronger rules and new inspection powers
The cancellations have been reinforced by new legislation, including Decree 31/2024, which clarified the ability of municipalities to impose limits on the number of tourist rentals per building, district or zone, provided such measures are clear and proportionate.
The Junta has also rolled out a Programmed Inspection Plan targeting illegal tourist housing, supported by tools such as database integration, cooperation agreements and even web scraping to detect unlicensed properties.
In parallel, the regional government has passed Decree-Law 1/2025 on urgent housing measures, enabling councils to better regulate tourist housing in line with their urban planning frameworks while ensuring stronger legal certainty and protecting the urban environment.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
