PROVINCIA DE MáLAGA – Málaga has confirmed its position as the province with the highest number of tourist properties in all of Spain with 11% more tourist properties than a year ago.
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Over the past year, the number of tourist homes in the province has grown from 35,060 to 39,041. Compared to two years ago, the increase is even 23% (31,737). This is evident from estimates by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The centre of Málaga city appears to be one of the most saturated areas. Here, some sections even reach rates between 18% and 29%.
Other provinces
Malaga remains in first place in the country as the most productive location for tourist housing, surpassing Alicante. Currently in second place, with 37,962 homes, Alicante lost the top spot in the summer of 2022.
Balearic Islands takes third position with 26,507 homes. This is followed by Las Palmas (24,062), Girona (21,632) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (20,314). Madrid and Barcelona are slightly lower on the list, with 16,970 and 14,713 tourist properties respectively. They have less than half the number in Malaga.
Increase in tourist housing
The INE has been publishing statistics biannually since 2020 based on data from the three most used tourist accommodation platforms in Spain. There are now 340,424 tourist properties across Spain, an increase of 9.2% compared to a year ago. The province of Malaga concentrates 11% of all tourist properties in the country.
Places and municipalities
Málaga ranks just below Alicante in terms of the number of beds offered. This is mainly due to the lower number of beds per tourist home. Málaga has an average of 5.07 beds per home, while Alicante has 5.31 beds. Balearic Islands comes third with 165,717 tourist beds.
Local figures
In Malaga city there are 6,550 tourist homes with more than 28,200 beds, followed by Marbella with a similar number of homes but with more capacity (6,540 homes and almost 37,814 beds).
Illegal tourist homes
The above figures do not include the number of homes that do not meet all the requirements and are registered as tourist homes. Con Malaga spokesman Nicolas Sguiglia estimates this number to be at least 3,000 based on a study conducted by the University of Malaga on behalf of the regional government.
Debate about tourist housing
At the time these data are coming out, the Supreme Court’s position in this regard has just become known. It recognises that the operation of tourist homes is an economic activity that can be prohibited through the articles of Association of the Owners’ Association (VvE). This gives the homeowners’ association the power to veto tourist housing projects in their buildings. This position is seen as a “paradigm change” for HOAs and property managers.
The president of the Colegio de Administradores de Fincas de Málaga (CAF) considers this recognition important because municipalities, autonomous communities, and the Tax Authorities did not consider the operation of tourist properties as an economic activity, but rather as a complementary form of rental housing. This has meant that many communities that previously condoned such activities can now ban them due to their housing laws that prohibit economic activities in residential areas.
However, the Association of Professionals in Tourist Homes and Apartments of Andalucia (AVVA Pro) believes that the Supreme Court’s position “does not change anything”.
Happy with pronunciation
The ConMalaga association is happy with the ruling. The large number of houses for tourist use in the city centre – including illegal ones – causes problems. Think of higher house prices, reduced availability and problems with living together. The Con Malaga association plans to propose measures to the city council to combat illegal tourist rentals. They hope to be able to emulate Barcelona’s success with online verifications and inspections. In the Catalan capital, a major illegal operator was fined more than €600,000.
The regulation of tourist rentals has long been a subject of debate, and Málaga is awaiting the approval of the regional decree on tourist housing before more extensive measures can be taken. Con Malaga is also pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling that owners associations can decide on the destination of the homes in their building.
Also read: Spanish homeowner circumvents new housing law with short-term rental
