Malaga's ban on new tourist apartments and hotels will come into force in ten days and last for three years

Tourism

The city hall has called a special meeting next week to approve the measure which will suspend the granting of permits for new tourist accommodation in the city

Jesús Hinojosa

Malaga is one step closer to approving the moratorium on tourist flats and hotels of under four stars despite legal objections.

After weeks of analysis and preparation within the urban planning department (Urbanismo), the file to modify the general urban development plan (PGOU) is ready for approval, following the objections the city council secretariat had raised.

Urbanismo has now overcome these objections. The mayor, Francisco de la Torre announced on Wednesday that the ban will come into force as soon as it has been published in the province's official gazette (BOP) which could be in ten days' time.

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• Tourism

  • Currently, the PGOU considers accommodation as an alternative use for residential plots. Therefore, there is no limit on the construction of tourist flat complexes and hotels on vacant lots, provided they have independent access.

    The PGOU amendment was ready for initial approval at Tuesday's meeting of the local ruling team. However, in the days leading up to this milestone, the city council's general secretariat issued a report raising objections to the amendment that would temporarily suspend permits for more tourist flats and hotels under four stars.

    According to sources, the secretariat had already opposed the urban planning department's proposal in the file. Specifically, it rejected Mayor Francisco de la Torre's request that the moratorium only apply to hotels with fewer than four stars.

    The city's legal experts, however, warned that such a distinction could not be made, meaning the temporary suspension would have to apply to all types of hotel use, regardless of their category.

    Following these initial objections, the urban planning department adapted the document it was working on to take into account the feedback.

    De la Torre's objective is to put a stop as soon as possible to the proliferation of tourist flat complex projects and hotels in the city.

    According to authorities, this phenomenon is one of the causes of the current housing crisis in Malaga.

    The local ruling team intends for this amendment to the PGOU to entail a temporary suspension of the uses it seeks to regulate, thereby halting the permits that currently authorise them until the new conditions are definitively approved.

    Initially, this moratorium was to cover the conversion of commercial premises into housing, which the current amendment also addresses.

    The approval of this draft amendment does not imply the immediate suspension of new permits for tourist flats and lower-category hotels. What will be approved is the proposed change to the regulations of the PGOU, which will then be sent to the opposition political groups so they can submit opinions.

    In order for the proposal to go ahead, it must receive the votes of the full council.

    This initial approval will establish what projects the temporary suspension of new permits will impact and how long it will remain in effect.

    Explore all news about the housing crisis in Malaga city