Buying in Torremolinos: prices, neighbourhoods and the tourist licence

Torremolinos is now the town buyers turn to after Málaga closed its door. The reason fits in one sentence: here, a new holiday rental licence is still possible. Twelve kilometres away, in the city of Málaga, it no longer is.

This page brings together real prices neighbourhood by neighbourhood, the rules that actually apply in Torremolinos in 2026, and what holiday letting earns there, with figures, dates and sources. Including the ones that do not suit us.

The tourist licence: still open here

Torremolinos has not introduced a municipal moratorium. To date there is no suspension of new registrations, no saturation zoning and no quota. A holiday rental (vivienda de uso turístico) can therefore still be registered here, which has not been possible in Málaga city since 23 August 2025.

Torremolinos is therefore more expensive to buy than the city, and it is rising twice as fast. That is no accident: the market has already priced in part of what the right to holiday-let is worth. Our full guide to the city is here: buying in Málaga. The regulatory detail for the city is explained in our analysis of the Málaga PGOU amendment.

Next door, Benalmádena works differently again: the town hall does not block licences, but the owners’ community can ban them, and a decision published in the BOE in February 2026 has just confirmed it. We explain this in our guide buying in Benalmádena.

“Open” does not mean “no rules”

Andalusian regulations apply in full, and they have become stricter. What to check before buying:

• Registration in the Andalusian Tourism Register (RTA) : a responsible declaration gives you a registration code, which must appear on all your listings.
• The owners’ community agreement : since 3 April 2025, an owners’ community can ban or restrict tourist letting by a three-fifths majority. It is the first thing to check in a building: read the minutes of the meetings, not just the statutes.
• The technical requirements of Decree 31/2024 : fixed air conditioning (portable units are no longer accepted for new registrations), window blackout, direct ventilation and a minimum area per guest.
• Guest registration with the authorities, mandatory under Royal Decree 933/2021.

Torremolinos neighbourhoods and what they cost

Eight neighbourhoods, and prices that can double from one to another. Asking prices in August 2026.

Two figures deserve a closer look. El Bajondillo rose 25.1% in one year and Playamar 18.6% : these are the two seafront neighbourhoods, and the rise is driven by tourist demand. By contrast, La Leala and El Pinar are slightly down : they are the areas furthest from the beach.

How we read these neighbourhoods

• La Carihuela : the old fishing village, its beach bars and its promenade. It is the neighbourhood that rents best, because it has character. Our first choice for a rental project.
• Playamar and El Bajondillo : right on the beach, often in older but well-placed buildings. Sharp recent rises: you pay a lot here, and you need to check the real condition of the building and the community fees before deciding.
• Montemar : quieter, more residential, on the hillside, with views. A good balance between personal use and letting, at prices still reasonable compared with the seafront.
• Centro : year-round life, shops, the station. The best ratio of price to long-term rental demand.
• El Pinillo, La Leala, El Pinar : the entry-level areas. Better suited to a main home or a long-term let than to holiday letting.

We currently have in Torremolinos Villa El Pinar, with a private pool and sea views.

Holiday letting, and what it really earns

This is the heart of the matter in Torremolinos, and it has been our job since 2017. Let us start with the most cautious benchmark: long-term letting.

At €17.5/m²/month for a purchase price of €4,229/m², the gross yield comes out at around 5.0% , a calculation we make here from the two published averages, not a published figure as such. That is in line with Málaga city and still below the Spanish average of 6.5%.

Across our own Costa del Sol portfolio, holiday lets sit more between 6 and 10% gross, against 4 to 7% for long-term lets. These are observed figures, not a promise: the gap depends entirely on the exact location, the quality of the property and the management.

What works in Torremolinos’ favour for holiday letting: Málaga airport ten minutes away, the local train linking the airport and the city, a genuinely long season and guests who come back. What works against it: dense competition, so the property really has to stand out.

What buying really costs

As everywhere in Andalusia, allow about 9 to 10% in extra costs on a resale property (7% ITP transfer tax, notary, land registry, lawyer) and about 13% on a new build (10% VAT + 1.2% AJD stamp duty). On a €250,000 flat in La Carihuela, that is €22,500 to €32,500 on top of the asking price.

The line-by-line breakdown is in our guide to property investment in Spain. The seven steps of a purchase (NIE, bank account, arras, checks, notary) and the most common mistakes are explained in our guide to buying in Málaga : the procedure is the same throughout Andalusia.

Tax for non-residents

Tax resident in the European Union: your Spanish rental income is taxed at 19% on net income, with expenses deductible. Outside the EU (United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, United States) it is 24% on gross income, with no deductions at all. On a property let to holidaymakers, the difference runs to thousands of euros a year.

On top of this come the deemed income for periods when the property is not let, the annual modelo 210 return and the 3% withholding on resale. We are neither lawyers nor tax advisers: we point you in the right direction and put you in touch with the right people.

What we do in Torremolinos

VivaStay is an estate agency based in Málaga (registered estate agent API 525). Torremolinos is one of the towns where we manage the most properties: we know the buildings, the property managers and the communities that accept or refuse tourist letting.

• Checking tourist-let feasibility before the offer : meeting minutes, community statutes and technical compliance with Decree 31/2024. This is what stops you buying a property that can never be registered.
• Search and viewings : we view properties for you, on video, and we also tell you what is wrong.
• VUT registration : responsible declaration, RTA code and bringing the property into compliance.
• Full rental management : listings, guests, cleaning, the unexpected and owner accounts. This is our concierge service.
• Works and home staging : a well-prepared property rents for more, and more often.

Our properties in Torremolinos

I market properties in Torremolinos, in Playamar, El Pinillo, Montemar and the centre, both for sale and for rent.

For sale

• Duplex penthouse in El Pinillo : 4 bedrooms, 379 m² plot, 103 m² solarium, €620,000.
• Apartment in Playamar : 3 bedrooms, €550,000.
• Apartment in El Pinillo : 4 bedrooms, €460,000.
• Pacaraima residential complex in Montemar : 2 bedrooms, €300,000, presented as an investment.
• Apartment on Avenida Palma de Mallorca : €250,000.

Holiday lets

• Villa El Pinar, private pool and sea views : 3 bedrooms, 170 m².
• Casa Elefante, villa with pool : 3 bedrooms, calle José María Martín Carpena.
• Townhouse, calle Perú : 4 bedrooms.
• Andalusian-style apartment, a few minutes from the beach.

Mid-term let

• Furnished apartment in the La Nogalera complex, central Torremolinos : 78.80 m², 2 bedrooms, two communal pools, €1,450 a month in the winter season.

Let’s talk about your project in Torremolinos

Tell us your country of tax residence and what you are looking for. We reply personally, in English, French or Spanish, including when the honest answer is “not that property”.

Frequently asked questions

Whatever the town, a series of checks is essential before the offer: cadastral reference value, community debts, type of deposit. We explain the mistakes to avoid when buying in Spain.

And if yield is your main criterion, look at the next town too: Mijas is cheaper to buy and has the best gross yield of the seven towns we document.

Talk to someone on the ground about your project

Torremolinos is still open to tourist licences, but every building has its own statutes. Before making an offer, they need to be read. VivaStay is an estate agency on the Costa del Sol : I check the nota simple, the community statutes and the town’s VUT rules before you commit a single euro.

Sources and dates

1. Idealista, sale price report, Torremolinos, August 2026 : €4,229/m², +9.9% over one year, and table by neighbourhood.
2. Idealista, rental price report, Torremolinos, August 2026 : €17.5/m²/month, −0.4% over one year.
3. Idealista, sale and rental prices, Málaga city, August 2026, for comparison: €3,938/m² and €16.5/m²/month.
4. Long-term yield of about 5.0%: VivaStay calculation from the two Idealista averages for August 2026, not a published figure.
5. No municipal moratorium in Torremolinos: list of moratoriums in force in Spain in 2026; Torremolinos is not among the towns that have introduced a suspension, unlike Málaga.
6. Málaga, suspension of new VUTs across the whole municipality: agreement published in the BOP of 22 August 2025, in force from 23 August 2025, based on article 6 of Andalusian Decree-Law 1/2025.
7. Andalusian regulations: Decree 31/2024 (technical requirements for holiday rentals) and Andalusian Tourism Law 13/2011; registration in the RTA by responsible declaration.
8. Owners’ community agreement by a three-fifths majority to ban or restrict tourist letting, applicable since 3 April 2025.
9. Guest registration: Royal Decree 933/2021.
10. Non-resident tax: IRNR 19% (EU/EEA, on net income) and 24% (outside the EU, on gross income); Andalusian ITP 7% ; new builds: VAT 10% + AJD 1.2%.

Page updated on 9 September 2026. Market prices change and holiday rental rules can change quickly, as Málaga showed in August 2025. Always check the exact situation of a property and its owners’ community before committing. This information is for guidance only and is not personalised legal or tax advice.