THE NLS NEWS | 10 October 2026 | Spain & Costa del Sol Property Market
Spain’s long-term rental market has lost almost 393,000 advertised properties since 2018, a fall of approximately 44%.
Now, as the government introduces further tenant protections and considers additional restrictions affecting landlords, one question is becoming increasingly important:
Can Spain improve rental security without further reducing the number of homes available to rent?
New figures from idealista reveal the scale of the challenge.
393,000
Fewer long-term rental listings
−44%
Change from 2018 to 2025
€18.80/m²
Málaga province asking rent, September 2026
5–7 years
Proposed automatic renewal periods
From 902,664 to 510,091: Spain’s shrinking rental listings
According to figures reported by idealista, Spain recorded 902,664 long-term rental advertisements in 2018.
By 2025, that figure had fallen to 510,091.
That represents 392,573 fewer advertised rental properties.
The decline is particularly relevant in regions with substantial tourism, international relocation and second-home ownership.
In Andalucía, advertised long-term rental supply fell from 136,003 to 101,600 over the same period — a reduction of 34,403 listings, or approximately 25.3%.
Importantly, this does not mean that 393,000 homes are now standing empty or have permanently disappeared from Spain’s rental stock.
The figures measure the contraction in advertised long-term rental supply. Properties may have been sold, moved into seasonal or alternative rental models, or remained occupied by existing long-term tenants.
Nevertheless, the figures highlight the increasing difficulty many tenants face when searching for an available home.
What has changed since The NLS’s previous report?
On 2 October, The NLS examined Spain’s proposed changes to residential rental contracts in:
Spain’s New Rental Rules: Automatic 5-Year Renewals and 12 Months’ Compensation Could Reshape the Market
That report explored the potential consequences for landlords, tenants, investors and real estate professionals.
Since then, further legislation has brought the issue back into focus.
Real Decreto-ley 28/2026, dated 6 October, addresses the automatic renewal of habitual-residence tenancy agreements.
Its provisions include successive five-year renewal periods where the landlord is an individual and seven-year periods where the landlord is a company, subject to the relevant termination requirements.
The measures also include longer notice requirements for landlords seeking non-renewal, compensation obligations in qualifying cases and additional protections affecting certain vulnerable households and existing rental arrangements.
An important legal distinction remains.
The decree published in October provides for a future entry into force and remains subject to Spain’s parliamentary process. It should therefore not be treated as an already permanent change applying automatically to every residential tenancy in Spain.
The outcome of that legislative process will be an important part of what happens next.
The ‘Maricarmen’ decree adds another layer of uncertainty
A separate development is the return of the housing package widely referred to in Spanish political reporting as the “decreto Maricarmen.”
This is distinct from the automatic-renewal measures.
The government has sought to revive measures dealing with eviction protections for vulnerable households and broader housing regulation following previous parliamentary setbacks.
The distinction matters.
One set of measures concerns the circumstances in which vulnerable households may remain protected against eviction.
The other concerns how ordinary residential leases renew, when landlords can recover possession and when compensation may become payable.
For tenants, the government’s stated objective is greater residential stability and protection against displacement.
For landlords, the questions concern the duration of their commitments, recovery of possession, legal costs and the predictability of their investment.
Both influence confidence in the rental market — but in different ways.
Málaga: the local numbers tell a different story
The national decline hides significant regional differences.
Málaga province recorded 48,286 long-term rental advertisements in 2018 and 46,524 in 2025, a decline of 1,762.
Málaga city experienced a much sharper contraction.
Listings fell from 17,637 to 11,322, representing 6,315 fewer advertisements and a decline of approximately 35.8%.
That contrast is significant.
A relatively modest decline across the province can exist alongside much more severe shortages in individual municipalities.
It also demonstrates why rental-market statistics should increasingly be examined at city and neighbourhood level rather than through national averages alone.
What €18.80 per square metre means for Málaga
Asking rents in Málaga province reached approximately €18.80 per square metre in September 2026.
For a hypothetical 100m² property, that would equal:
€1,880 per month
€22,560 per year
Several Costa del Sol municipalities sit considerably higher.
| Location | €/m²/month | Illustrative 100m² monthly rent |
|---|---|---|
| Marbella | €23.60 | €2,360 |
| Benahavís | €21.20 | €2,120 |
| Estepona | €21.10 | €2,110 |
| Fuengirola | €17.20 | €1,720 |
| Mijas | €17.10 | €1,710 |
| Málaga city | €16.50 | €1,650 |
September 2026 asking-rent averages previously reported by The NLS, based on idealista data. These are illustrative asking prices rather than achieved contractual rents.
At these levels, the shortage of available long-term housing affects more than lower-income households.
It can influence recruitment, employee retention, international relocation and the ability of companies to attract workers to some of Spain’s most economically active areas.
For estate agencies, developers and investors, rental availability is increasingly part of the wider property-market equation.
Will the new laws bring rental homes back to the market?
That remains the central unanswered question.
Supporters of stronger tenant protections argue that increased stability reduces forced moves, improves housing security and gives households greater certainty over their finances.
Critics argue that additional obligations and uncertainty may discourage some owners from offering properties on the long-term rental market, particularly where they have alternative uses available.
The idealista figures establish that advertised long-term rental supply contracted substantially between 2018 and 2025.
They do not, however, prove that any single piece of legislation caused that decline.
The October 2026 measures also cannot explain a reduction that occurred before they were introduced.
A clearer assessment will require future data on new rental listings, tenancy duration, property sales, seasonal rentals and the number of homes returning to the long-term market.
What estate agents and investors should watch next
For Spain’s property industry, three developments will be especially important.
First, the parliamentary outcome of the October legislation will determine which proposed obligations and protections ultimately remain in force.
Second, changes in advertised long-term rental availability will show whether the market is becoming more or less accessible to new tenants.
Third, the differences between markets such as Málaga city, Marbella, Estepona and the wider province will become increasingly important when assessing where housing pressure is most acute.
For investors, understanding the difference between existing tenancy obligations, proposed legislation and actual rental yields will be essential.
A property with an existing tenant may carry a very different risk profile from an unoccupied property entering the open rental market.
For estate agents, accurate advice will increasingly depend not only on a property’s asking price, but also on its tenancy status, contract dates and applicable legal protections.
The NLS Conclusion
Spain’s rental challenge is now about both affordability and availability.
The latest figures show 392,573 fewer long-term rental advertisements on idealista between 2018 and 2025.
Andalucía alone recorded a reduction of 34,403.
At the same time, Málaga province contains some of Spain’s most expensive rental markets, while Málaga city has experienced a particularly significant contraction in advertised long-term rental opportunities.
The renewed debate surrounding housing protections and automatic contract extensions adds another factor to the equation: legal certainty.
For tenants, the priority is secure and affordable accommodation.
For landlords, it is confidence that contractual obligations, property rights and investment risks remain understandable and predictable.
Those objectives do not necessarily have to conflict.
But legislation alone cannot create the additional homes Spain needs.
The real test of Spain’s next housing policies will therefore not simply be whether they strengthen tenant protections.
It will also be whether more homes ultimately become available for the people who need somewhere to live.
The NLS will continue monitoring the data and legislative developments as the situation evolves.
Sources: idealista, 7 October 2026; BOE, Real Decreto-ley 28/2026; Europa Press, 6 October 2026; La Razón, 7 October 2026; The NLS, 2 October 2026.
