PUERTO Banus’ long-running terrace wars have taken a sharp new turn after a top Andalucian court backed restaurant owners in their fight against the company which runs the luxury hotspot.
The heart of the dispute stems from the fact that Puerto Banus SA, the private marina operator, currently charges the bars and restaurants a fee to put tables out on the streets that run through the iconic port.
For years, local businesses have argued that the streets are public and that only Marbella Town Hall should be able to charge for outdoor seating, not the private operator.
Now, the High Court of Justice of Andalucia (TSJA) has sided with the restaurant owners, and has ordered Marbella Town Hall to begin adding them to the list of public stock.
The move could eventually decide who has the right to charge terrace fees in one of the most expensive dining areas on the Costa del Sol.
Right now, Puerto Banus SA treats the streets as part of its private domain and bills restaurants for the right to put out tables and chairs.
Many businesses say those fees are high, opaque and unfair – and that the land doesn’t even belong to the port operator
The TSJA ruling gives them their strongest support yet.
Judges say a full council agreement passed back in 1996 already declared the roads to be public-use and public-owned, and ordered the Town Hall to open the legalisation file.
That decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Despite this, Marbella Town Hall has never acted on it – and is now appealing to the Supreme Court again in an effort to avoid being forced to start the process immediately.
For expats and visitors, the dispute matters because it could eventually reshape who controls terrace space, who sets the prices and how tightly the area is regulated.
Any shift in ownership could change how restaurants operate in one of the Costa del Sol’s best-known leisure zones.
For now, nothing will change on the ground: terraces remain in place, and Puerto Banus SA continues charging for them while the case moves back to Spain’s highest court.
But the ruling marks a major legal turn – and the clearest signal yet that judges believe the streets of Puerto Banus should be treated as public land, not private property.
Click here to read more Málaga News from The Olive Press.
