What if my municipality has a moratorium on tourist rentals? What it is, who it affects and what options you have left

Short answer: a moratorium means the town hall stops admitting new tourist homes, across the whole city or in certain neighbourhoods, normally while it changes its urban plan. It does not affect homes already registered, which keep operating, are sold with the licence and can change manager. On the Costa del Sol, as of 21 September 2026, only Málaga city has one (since August 2025, until at least August 2028); Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola admit new registrations. If your municipality has a moratorium and your flat is not registered, it cannot be today: you are left with seasonal lets, long-term lets or buying a flat that already has a licence.

What exactly is a moratorium?

The Junta de Andalucía registers tourist homes in its registry, but requires the home to comply with its municipality's planning rules. In other words: the town hall decides, with its urban plan, whether tourist use is allowed in each area and under what conditions. When a town hall believes there are too many tourist homes, it can suspend new ones (that is the moratorium) while it approves limits by neighbourhood or changes the plan.

What it suspends is the registration of new homes. What it does not touch is the activity of those already registered and compliant.

The legal basis in Andalusia is article 6 of Decree-Law 1/2025 of 24 February: in municipalities with justified reasons of general interest, the residential use of a plot no longer allows on its own the use of the home for tourist accommodation if the urban plan does not provide for it, and the town hall can suspend licences and responsible declarations for new tourist homes while it processes the change of plan, for up to three years. Before that, Decree 31/2024 already required the home to "comply with municipal planning rules" and to declare so when registering it with the Junta.

What is "planning compatibility" and why does the town hall ask for it?

It is the check that tourist use is allowed on your plot under the municipality's urban plan. Since Decree 31/2024, when you register the home with the Junta you sign a responsible declaration in which you state that the home is compatible with the planning rules (art. 9.1.e); if it is not, the registration can be cancelled (art. 9.2). That is why some town halls ask for, or it is worth asking them for, a planning compatibility report or certificate: a document from the Urban Planning department saying that at that address tourist dwelling use fits (residential land, not non-conforming, no suspension in that area). It is not the tourist licence, which the Junta gives; it is the prior municipal filter. The sixth final provision of Decree-Law 1/2025 made it concrete: the home must have, "where applicable", the planning licence or responsible declaration for change of use allowing the tourist purpose. That "where applicable" means it is only required in municipalities that have activated article 6 (declared reasons of general interest and a plan regulating the use); where they have not, the responsible declaration to the Junta is enough. In Málaga city, moreover, since July 2026 the plan no longer considers lodging compatible with residential use: there the report would come back negative.

How do I know if my municipality has a moratorium?

1. Look at the "Can I rent here?" map: enter your address and it tells you the municipality's situation with its source. We review it every month.
2. If you want the official answer, ask in writing at the Urban Planning department of your town hall whether tourist dwelling use is allowed on your plot. Some town halls call it a planning compatibility report or certificate. Having it in writing protects you if doubts arise later.
3. Check that the flat has a first occupancy licence (or equivalent certificate): without it the Junta does not register, moratorium or not. We explain it in Documents for the licence.

Situation on the Costa del Sol as of 21 September 2026:

Málaga city: how it got here

My flat has its own entrance: wasn't that an exception in Málaga?

It was, between June 2024 and August 2025: with independent access, evacuation and installations it could be registered (outside the saturated neighbourhoods). That is why it is still doing the rounds. But the suspension of August 2025 has no such exception and the amendment of the plan in July 2026 closes the route completely: today an own entrance does not help to register a tourist home in Málaga city. Only files submitted before each publication in the BOP continue their course.

My flat is already registered and a moratorium arrives: does it affect me?

No. The moratorium stops new registrations; yours is already done. You can keep renting, change manager, sell the flat with the licence (communicating the change of holder to the Junta) or leave it as an inheritance. That is what happens in Málaga: registered homes operate normally and, precisely because of the scarcity, are worth more.

Two warnings:

• Do not deregister the licence "for a while" or let it lapse: with a moratorium you could not register it again. See Deregistering the licence.
• Keep your paperwork up to date (association agreement if you registered after April 2025, flat requirements, traveller registration): inspections concentrate where there is a moratorium.

My flat is not registered and my municipality has a moratorium: what options do I have?

1. Seasonal let: more than two months to the same tenant (students, relocated workers, winter stays). It is not tourist use, it needs no licence or association permission.
2. Long-term let, with the tax reduction if it is the tenant's main home. We compare the two in Tourist or long-term?.
3. Buy a flat that already has a licence, if what you want is the tourist business. Before paying, check that the licence exists, is active and is in the seller's name: Buying a flat with a tourist licence.
4. Wait for the moratorium to end, with no guarantee that the use will be allowed again in your neighbourhood.

What is not advisable is renting to tourists without registration "in the meantime": areas with a moratorium are where inspections are most frequent, and a listing without a licence code is the first clue. Renting without registration is a serious offence under Law 13/2011 on Tourism in Andalusia: a fine of €2,001 to €18,000 (art. 78), with possible suspension of the activity. We explain it in What is the VFT/VUT licence?.

I live in Torremolinos, Benalmádena or Fuengirola: could a moratorium catch me tomorrow?

It could. None of the three has a moratorium, but the trend along the whole coast is towards more control: Fuengirola has required an independent entrance since 2024 and commissioned a saturation study (9 % tourist pressure), Benalmádena studied saturation that same year, Torremolinos is drafting a new General Plan (expected in 2027) and Málaga went from limiting 43 neighbourhoods to suspending the whole city in under two years. If you have decided to rent to tourists, register the flat as soon as possible: once registered, a future moratorium does not reach you. The steps are in How the licence is processed.

Is a moratorium the same as the association's ban?

No. They are two different filters and you have to pass both:

• The moratorium is set by the town hall and affects a whole neighbourhood or city.
• The owners' association decides about your building: since April 2025 it must approve tourist use by three fifths. We explain it in Can my association ban it?.

And after those two, there is a third: the flat must meet the Junta's requirements (What does the flat need to have?). The right order is municipality, association, flat: see Can I rent my flat to tourists where it is?.