Malaga continues to hand out new tourist apartment permits despite housing backlash

DESPITE the Malaga City Council’s plans to regulate tourist accommodation within the city, in reality it’s continuing to hand out new permits for apartment complexes.

Just last month, Urban Planning authorised three new apartment complexes in the neighbourhoods of Trinidad, Nueva Málaga, and El Molinillo, Diario Sur reported.

The Department of Environmental Sustainability has also processed the assessments for six more units in already renovated buildings and new builds.

This is despite the council’s approval of measures to limit and curb the growth of vacation rental apartments in the past year.

Delays in those regulating measures have been attributed to an ongoing report on tourism in the city, which was contracted to a Madrid company in April and given a 12-month deadline.

The Urban Planning Department has explained that “once the study is completed, the report will be reviewed and legally compiled,” which will support a modification to the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) regulating tourist uses in the city, including apartment complexes, hostels, guesthouses, and hotels of various categories.

Currently, permits for converting commercial premises into housing accounts for seven out of ten building permits being filed for residential use.

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