Malaga City Council has approved plans for a three-year ban on new hotels and tourist accommodation in residential areas.

Mayor Francisco de la Torre announced on Wednesday that the moratorium will come into force ‘in a matter of days’.

The law will be in effect once it receives initial approval at an extraordinary council meeting next week and is published in the Provincial Official Gazette (BOP).

The measure will amend Malaga’s General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), making tourist accommodation automatically incompatible with residential land across the city.

At present, the planning rules allow hotels and tourist apartments to operate in residential buildings provided they have a separate entrance.

The new rules would end that possibility.

‘We want to defend residential land,’ De la Torre said, adding that it should be used ‘only’ for housing.

The moratorium – the maximum period permitted under Spanish planning law – will remain in place for three years, or until a wider revision of the PGOU is approved, whichever comes first.

Which properties are affected?

The suspension will apply to new licences for tourist apartments, aparthotels, hotels of all categories, hostels and guesthouses.

It will cover all areas zoned for residential use, including Malaga’s Historic Centre, closed-block residential neighbourhoods, open-plan residential developments, Ciudad Jardin, detached housing estates, semi-detached housing areas and traditional residential districts.

However, projects that had already submitted licence applications – or were already included in planning applications before the moratorium is officially published – will still be allowed to proceed.

The mayor also suggested the council would closely examine any last-minute applications submitted in the coming days to prevent developers rushing proposals through before the rules take effect.

Tougher rules on converting shops into homes

The council has also approved stricter rules governing the conversion of commercial premises into residential properties.

Converting shops into flats has become increasingly common in Malaga, with around five commercial premises reportedly converted into homes every day.

Under the new proposals:

• Commercial units on major roads will no longer be allowed to become homes.
• Premises facing public squares will also be excluded.
• New minimum standards for light, ventilation and ceiling height will apply.
• Basement mezzanines and intermediate floors will face tighter regulations before they can be used as living space.

The council says the changes are intended to improve housing quality while preserving commercial activity in key parts of the city.

Opposition says the measures come too late

The PSOE welcomed the restrictions but described them as ‘late and not serious enough’, arguing the city had spent years allowing tourist accommodation to spread unchecked through residential neighbourhoods.

Socialist spokesperson Mariano Ruiz Araujo also warned that announcing the moratorium before it officially comes into force could trigger a rush of licence applications.

‘It’s a moratorium with a trap,’ he said, claiming developers would now race to submit projects before the deadline.

Meanwhile, left-wing coalition Con Malaga criticised the council for reducing the proposed suspension from five years to three and limiting it only to residential land.

Deputy spokesperson Toni Morillas said hotels and tourist apartments would still be able to open on commercially zoned land, significantly reducing the impact of the measure.

The proposal is expected to receive its initial approval at an extraordinary council meeting next week before officially entering into force later this month.