VUT licences in Andalusia: requirements, Málaga's moratorium, and what to do now

From VFT to VUT: what changed, and why the name matters

Until 2024 the category was called Vivienda con Fines Turísticos (VFT). Decreto 31/2024, of 29 January, updated the framework and renamed them Viviendas de Uso Turístico (VUT).

The change is more than terminology. The decree introduced concrete physical requirements, strengthened the town hall's role in authorisation, and gave municipalities the power to restrict the activity by area. If your registration predates it, your code is still valid — but the list of requirements it was granted under is not.

A licence registered as a VFT before February 2024 remains valid. What is no longer current is the requirement list it was granted against.

What the property must have

The decree sets minimum conditions a home must meet to register and stay registered:

Cooling and heating

Fixed cooling in every habitable room, and fixed heating depending on the declared opening period.

Maximum capacity

15 guests per property and 4 per bedroom.

Planning compatibility

A municipal certificate confirming tourist use is compatible with land-use rules at that address.

Occupancy licence

A valid occupancy licence or habitability certificate.

Community of owners

Since 3 April 2025 a new tourist home needs the community's express approval (3/5 of owners and shares). If the statutes prohibit tourist letting, you cannot operate.

Guest information

Official complaint forms, and contact details for the owner or the operating company.

The community-of-owners vote

Since April 2025 a community of owners can agree to limit or condition tourist letting in the building, with three-fifths of owners representing three-fifths of the participation quotas voting in favour.

That agreement is not retroactive against homes already operating legally, but it does block new ones. In practice, a licence already granted in a building whose community has voted against is now worth considerably more, because it cannot be replicated.

Málaga city's moratorium

Since 23 August 2025 new tourist homes (VUT) have been suspended across the whole municipality of Málaga, for up to three years or until the council's amendment to the city plan (PGOU) is approved. The measure rests on article 6.2 of Andalusia's Decreto-ley 1/2025, and the council asked the Junta not to accept new VUT registrations in the city while it lasts.

It is the third step in a tightening that began earlier. From June 2024 new tourist homes without their own entrance and services separate from the rest of the block were no longer accepted, and from January 2025 the 43 neighbourhoods where tourist housing exceeded 8% of the housing stock were closed to new registrations.

Do not confuse it with the moratorium approved on 16 July 2026 and in force since 25 July, which for up to three years blocks new hotels, hostels and tourist apartments on residentially-zoned land. That measure concerns hotel-type accommodation; for tourist homes, the brake is the 2025 suspension.

What the suspension does not do: it does not close homes already operating. It applies to new registrations; existing licences continue to work normally.

If you hold a VUT licence in Málaga city and the property sits empty, you own something that cannot currently be obtained again. That is the practical consequence for an owner already inside the system.

I already have a licence — what should I check?

Four checks worth half an hour, in this order:

1. That the registry data matches reality: declared capacity, number of bedrooms, opening period, and the person or company operating it.

2. That the property meets the current physical requirements, particularly fixed cooling in each habitable room.

3. That you are registering guests correctly with the competent authority on every check-in.

4. That the community has not passed an agreement affecting you, and that the statutes contain no earlier prohibition.

What happens if you do not comply

Andalusia's tourism law grades breaches as minor, serious or very serious, with increasing penalty bands. Operating without registration, advertising a property without its registry code, and exceeding declared capacity are among the situations the administration pursues most actively.

The actual amount depends on how the breach is graded and on factors such as repetition, so any isolated figure you read out of context is of little use. What matters for an owner is that inspection now cross-checks platform data against the registry, and that advertising without a code is the easiest way to be found.