Can I rent my flat to tourists where it is? Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Málaga in 2026
Before buying furniture or taking photos, check three things: the municipality, the owners' association and the flat itself. In Málaga city no new homes are admitted today; on the Costa del Sol they are, with conditions.
Reviewed on 22 September 2026 · By the team at Torremolinos Gestión Vacacional, more than ten years managing holiday rentals · Markdown version · Versión en español
Short answer: it depends on three filters, and you have to pass them in this order: the municipality (does it admit new registrations?), the owners' association (has it approved it?) and the flat (does it meet the Junta's requirements?). If one fails, the other two do not matter. In September 2026, Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola admit new registrations; Málaga city does not.
Filter 1: does your municipality admit new tourist homes?
Each town hall decides, within its urban plan, whether it allows tourist use of homes and in which areas. It is the first thing to check, because it is the only one you cannot fix with money or paperwork.
| Municipality | Situation as of 19/09/2026 | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Málaga city | New registrations suspended across the whole city since 23 August 2025 (until August 2028 at most); since July 2026 the plan no longer admits lodging on residential land | If your flat is not already registered, you cannot register it today, whether or not it has its own entrance (that worked from June 2024 to August 2025). Homes already registered keep operating. Details in What if my municipality has a moratorium? |
| Torremolinos | Admits new registrations | You can register it if it passes filters 2 and 3 |
| Benalmádena | Admits new registrations | Same as Torremolinos |
| Fuengirola | Admits new registrations only with an independent entrance (art. 7.1.6 of its plan, since February 2024) | Houses, terraced houses and ground floors with a door onto the street, yes; a flat in a block with a shared entrance hall, no. Details on the Fuengirola page |
In Málaga, the suspension grew out of the study that found 43 neighbourhoods where tourist homes exceed 8 % of dwellings (Centro Histórico, Ensanche Centro, La Victoria, La Malagueta, El Palo, among others) and was later extended to the whole municipality. The trend on the Costa del Sol is towards more control, not less: what is possible today may not be in two years. If you have decided to rent, do not leave it for "later".
Filter 2: has your owners' association approved it?
Since 3 April 2025, to start renting to tourists the association must expressly approve it, by three fifths of the owners who also represent three fifths of the shares. Before, it was enough that they had not banned it; now you have to ask and win the vote. The Junta de Andalucía asks for the certificate of that agreement among the registration documents.
Homes that were already registered before that date do not need to ask for permission. The full guide is in Can my owners' association ban it?.
Filter 3: does the flat meet the Junta's requirements?
The Andalusian rules (Decree 28/2016, updated in 2024) set minimums that come down to a rule of three: 14 built square metres per place, with a minimum of 25, according to the Cadastre. A flat of 50 built m² cannot be registered for more than 3 people, however big the sofa looks.
In addition:
- Maximum 15 places if you rent the whole home and 4 per room.
- Two bathrooms if you exceed 5 places; three if you exceed 8.
- Cooling in bedrooms and living room if you open between May and August, and heating if you open between December and March; in both cases fixed or portable is fine (art. 6.1.e and 6.1.f of the decree), never fans or combustion or bar heaters.
- Direct ventilation in the bedrooms and blinds or curtains that black out.
- Beds of at least 80×190 cm (single) or 135×190 cm (double).
- First-aid kit, fire extinguisher, smoke detector, complaint forms and a folder with tourist information on the area.
- First occupancy licence for the home and the building must not be non-conforming with planning.
And not every home can be one even if it meets the above: social housing (viviendas de protección oficial), homes whose association by-laws forbid tourist use and homes let for more than two consecutive months to the same person (that is another type of rental) are excluded.
The full list, room by room, is in What does the flat need to have?.
How to check it in an afternoon
- Look at the Cadastre. At the Cadastre's electronic office, with the flat's cadastral reference, you will see the built square metres. Divide by 14 and round down: those are your maximum places.
- Ask the property administrator whether there is any agreement or clause on tourist homes in the by-laws, and when the next meeting is.
- Check the Andalusian Tourism Registry. Its public search shows the registered homes in your street: if there are several, it is a good sign that the building and the area admit it.
- Ask the Urban Planning department of your town hall whether the home has a first occupancy licence and whether tourist use is allowed in that area. In Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola the answer is usually yes; in Málaga city, today, no.
What happens if you rent without being allowed
Advertising a home that is not registered, or outside the declared periods, is considered a clandestine offer. The penalties under the Andalusian Tourism Act range from up to €2,000 for minor offences to between €2,001 and €18,000 for serious ones, and up to €150,000 for very serious ones, plus the possibility of closure. Platforms also remove listings that do not show the licence number.
What we do
When an owner writes to us with an address, we make these four checks before talking about anything else. If the home cannot be registered, we tell them and no time is wasted. If it can, we process the licence at no cost.