Costa Tiling
Many guides online still say a bathroom renovation in Málaga needs a licencia de obra menor or a declaración responsable. The city's new licensing ordinance, approved by the council on 25 September 2025 and in force since 30 December 2025, changed that for work inside homes. Here's what it says, where the limits are and what you still need to do.
One thing first: this applies to the municipality of Málaga. Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola and the other towns on the coast have their own ordinances.
What the ordinance says
Article 19 of the OMLU lists the works that need no licence, declaration or notice. Point 17 covers interior works in residential buildings, inside the homes or in the building's common areas. They can include:
- laying, replacing or repairing wall and floor finishes, including tiling (alicatados), flooring (solerías), render, plaster, false ceilings and the floor slab (solera);
- installing, replacing or repairing drainage and sanitaryware, plumbing, electrics, gas, air conditioning and similar installations;
- replacing or repairing interior doors and joinery, and interior painting.
For a bathroom, that covers the usual job: strip out the old tiles and fittings, renew the pipes and wiring inside the room, waterproof, retile, and fit a new shower or bath, WC and basin.
The limits
The same point sets the conditions. The work must not:
- affect the structure;
- change the interior layout, which the ordinance defines as building, moving or removing partition walls;
- change the outside of the building.
It only applies to an existing building that is finished and legal (edificación existente, terminada y regular), and it doesn't apply to protected buildings: those with integral, grade I or grade II architectural protection, ensemble protection, general catalogue listing, Bien de Interés Cultural status, or listed in the catalogue of mural paintings. In the historic centre (the Conjunto Histórico, declared BIC), new meters, machinery and installations can't go on the façade or be visible from the street.
When you do need a declaration or a licence
If the project grows beyond those limits, the route changes. Moving a partition to make the bathroom bigger, or working in a protected building, takes the job out of article 19. Depending on the case, it then needs a responsible declaration or a licence, filed with the Gerencia Municipal de Urbanismo, Obras e Infraestructuras (GMU) through the city's electronic office.
For a responsible declaration, the ordinance's document list (annex II.8) starts with the standard form, proof of paying the fee under Ordenanza Fiscal nº 15 and a photo of the area, with more documents depending on the work. Under Andalusia's planning law (LISTA, article 138.5), a declaration lets you start from the day you file it, as long as the paperwork is complete.
Works that need a licence, declaration or notice also pay the city's construction tax (ICIO): 3.8% of the cost of the works, not counting VAT, under Ordenanza Fiscal nº 4. It falls due when the work starts.
Free site visit along the Costa del Sol, and a reply within 24 hours.
What you still have to do: the works panel
Even when nothing is filed, article 8.6 requires the official works information panel (panel/cartel informativo de obras, on the standard model) to be placed somewhere visible before work starts. The ordinance says this applies to all works, including those in article 19. Ask the GMU for the current model if your contractor doesn't bring one.
In a flat: your community of owners
The ordinance only covers the city's side. In an apartment building, the community of owners (comunidad de propietarios) may have its own rules on working hours, the lift and taking rubble out, so tell the building administrator before you start. Anything on the street, such as a skip, is a separate matter with its own rules, so check before you book one.
How we handle it
At the free site visit we look at what you want to change and tell you whether it stays within article 19 or needs a declaration. If your plans include moving a wall, you'll know before anything is quoted. You can read more on our bathroom renovation page for Málaga, or book a site visit.
Based on the Ordenanza Municipal de Tramitación de Licencias Urbanísticas (approved 25 September 2025, published in the BOP de Málaga on 29 December 2025, in force from 30 December 2025) and Ordenanza Fiscal nº 4. Checked on 9 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice: if your building may be protected or you're not sure, ask the GMU before you start.
Sources
- Full text of the OMLU (articles 3.22, 8.6 and 19.17; annex II.8), Gerencia Municipal de Urbanismo
- Publication and entry into force of the new OMLU, Gerencia Municipal de Urbanismo
- Ordenanza Fiscal nº 4 (ICIO), Ayuntamiento de Málaga
- Ley 7/2021 de impulso para la sostenibilidad del territorio de Andalucía (LISTA), article 138