Marbella City Hall has approved a motion aimed at finding legal and urban planning solutions for thousands of properties that remain in an irregular planning situation, many of them linked to the city’s notorious Gil-era development boom.
The proposal was passed during Friday’s council meeting with support from the ruling PP and Vox parties, while the PSOE and OSP abstained.
Vox councillor Carlos Magro, who presented the motion, said Marbella still has ‘several thousand’ homes that are either fully or partially irregular due to planning decisions, licences and urban development agreements approved during the years when the city was governed by the Gil administration.
According to Magro, affected properties include homes with defective planning permissions, excess building volume, unauthorised changes of use, planning incompatibilities or unresolved land registry issues.
He argued that the situation continues to create significant legal uncertainty for homeowners, affecting everything from mortgages and property sales to renovation permits and first occupancy licences.
Magro also warned of wider consequences for Marbella’s future, including pressure on infrastructure, environmental impacts and an increasing dependence on tourism.
He said the city risks becoming overly focused on short-term tourism profitability at the expense of permanent residents, potentially leading to the loss of local identity, displacement of residents and overstretched public services.
The motion also calls for measures to support access to housing, including incentives for long-term rentals, affordable housing initiatives and tighter regulation of intensive tourist accommodation.
A key amendment proposed by the PP was incorporated into the motion, reaffirming the council’s commitment to protecting the rights of so-called ‘third parties acting in good faith’ – homeowners who purchased properties without knowing of any planning irregularities.
Marbella’s planning councillor, Jose Eduardo Diaz, said the council has already introduced several of the measures mentioned in the motion, including a specialist urban planning advice office that handled around 10,000 enquiries during the first quarter of this year.
He also pointed to dedicated procedures that allow owners of certain irregular properties to obtain certificates confirming no planning infractions are currently being pursued, as well as permits for essential maintenance works.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
