If you own an apartment in Fuengirola or a villa above Marbella but live in Manchester, Munich or Malmö, the single hardest question is not what your property is worth — it is what it costs to keep it running while you are 2,000 kilometres away. Property management on the Costa del Sol is a real industry with real tariffs, but the pricing is fragmented across retainers, percentages, per-visit fees and a maintenance “float” that few owners understand before the first invoice lands.
This guide sets out the genuine 2026 figures for Málaga province and Andalusia, so you can read a quote and know whether it is fair.
Answer capsule: For an absentee owner, basic keyholding on the Costa del Sol runs roughly 150 to 400 EUR per year. Holiday-let management costs 15 to 25 % of rental income plus IVA; long-term tenancy management costs 5 to 10 % of monthly rent plus IVA. Add call-out fees of 30 to 60 EUR per visit and a maintenance float of 200 to 500 EUR held on account.
Two Different Jobs: Caretaking vs. Letting
Before comparing prices, separate the two services owners often blur together.
Caretaking (keyholding) is for owners who do not rent out: someone holds your keys, checks the property, lets in tradespeople, and acts when the alarm goes off. This is priced as a fixed annual retainer.
Letting management is for owners who rent — either short-term holiday lets or long-term tenancies. This is almost always priced as a percentage commission on the rent collected.
Many Costa del Sol firms — from Estepona to Nerja — bundle both, but you should price them line by line.
Keyholding and Caretaking: the Fixed Retainer
Keyholding is the most common service for the British or German owner who uses the property a few weeks a year and leaves it empty otherwise.
A typical 2026 retainer on the Costa del Sol:
- Basic key custody plus emergency response: 150 to 250 EUR per year
- Standard package (monthly visit, dated photos, mail check): 250 to 400 EUR per year
- Premium package (fortnightly or weekly visits, utility and pool coordination): 400 to 700 EUR per year
In Marbella, Sotogrande and the higher end of Mijas and Estepona, retainers skew towards the upper band because villas need more checking than apartments. In Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Torremolinos, where apartment blocks dominate, you will find entry packages from around 60 to 70 EUR per year for bare key custody alone.
Each retainer usually includes a set number of visits. Extra visits, or letting in a plumber outside the schedule, are billed as a call-out: typically 30 to 50 EUR per visit in office hours, with a surcharge of 20 to 40 EUR for evenings, Sundays and public holidays.
The Maintenance Float
Almost every caretaker will ask you to leave a maintenance float — a sum held on account so they can pay a locksmith, an electrician or an emergency plumber without waiting for you to transfer money from abroad.
On the Costa del Sol this float is usually 200 to 500 EUR. The caretaker draws against it for small jobs, sends you the invoices, and asks you to top it up when it runs low. Two points to insist on: you receive the original tradesperson invoice for every drawdown, and there is an agreed ceiling (often 150 to 300 EUR) above which they must call you before spending.
Holiday-Let Management: 15–25 % Plus IVA
If you let your property to tourists, you need a registered holiday-rental licence. In Andalusia that is the VFT (Vivienda con Fines Turísticos), registered with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (RTA) under the Junta de Andalucía — note this is Andalusia’s system, not Valencia’s. Since 2025 every listing must also carry a national registration number, and platforms remove ads without one.
Full-service holiday-let management on the Costa del Sol in 2026 typically costs 15 to 25 % of gross rental income, plus 21 % IVA:
- Listing and channel management only (you handle some logistics): around 15 % + IVA
- Standard full service (listing, guest communication, check-in, cleaning coordination, 24-hour line): 18 to 20 % + IVA
- Premium and luxury villas (Marbella, Sotogrande, top-end Estepona): 20 to 25 % + IVA, occasionally higher with concierge extras
Remember the commission usually sits on top of the booking-platform fee. Booking.com and Airbnb take their own cut first, then the manager takes a percentage. On a 1,000 EUR booking, after platform fees, manager commission, cleaning and IVA, an owner commonly nets 60 to 65 % of the gross.
Cleaning is normally charged to the guest and passed to cleaners, but check whether your manager adds a margin. Typical changeover cleaning runs 40 to 80 EUR for an apartment and 80 to 200 EUR for a villa.
Long-Term Tenancy Management: 5–10 % Plus IVA
If you prefer a stable annual tenant rather than tourist churn — common for owners in Mijas, Fuengirola and inland Málaga — long-term management is far cheaper.
Ongoing management of a long-term let costs 5 to 10 % of the monthly rent, plus 21 % IVA. At the lower end (around 5 to 6 %) the agency simply collects rent and handles routine issues; at the upper end (8 to 10 %) you get full tenant relations, inspections and coordination of repairs.
Separately, finding a tenant costs roughly one month’s rent plus IVA. Note that since Spain’s 2023 housing law, on a primary-residence lease this finder fee is paid by the landlord, not the tenant.
Worked example: a flat in Fuengirola let at 1,100 EUR per month, managed at 8 %, costs 88 EUR plus IVA — about 106 EUR per month — leaving you roughly 994 EUR before community fees, IBI and insurance.
Town-by-Town: What to Expect
- Marbella and Sotogrande: the premium end. Holiday management 20 to 25 % + IVA; keyholding 300 to 700 EUR per year. Villas, golf-front properties, demanding guests.
- Estepona: rapidly professionalising. Holiday 18 to 22 % + IVA; keyholding 250 to 450 EUR.
- Mijas (Costa and pueblo): mixed villas and townhouses. Long-term management popular at 7 to 10 %; keyholding 200 to 400 EUR.
- Fuengirola and Benalmádena: apartment-heavy, competitive. Holiday 15 to 20 % + IVA; long-term 5 to 8 %; cheap keyholding from 150 EUR.
- Torremolinos: high volume, value-priced. Similar to Fuengirola, with budget keyholding available.
- Nerja and the eastern Axarquía: smaller, more personal operators. Holiday around 18 to 22 % + IVA; keyholding 200 to 350 EUR.
- Málaga city: strong long-term and mid-term demand; management 7 to 10 %, holiday 18 to 20 % + IVA.
Tax and Invoicing Notes
Management fees are a deductible expense against your rental-income tax. Non-resident owners file the Modelo 210 (IRNR): EU and EEA residents may deduct costs against net income, while non-EU owners (including the UK post-Brexit) are generally taxed on gross rent with no deductions. Because the rules genuinely affect which management model is cheapest for you, do not rely on a manager’s casual advice — speak to a gestor or abogado who handles non-resident property tax in Málaga province. Treat anything in this guide as general orientation, not personal tax advice.
Always insist on a proper invoice showing IVA separately and the firm’s tax number. Cash-in-hand arrangements leave you with no deductible expense and no recourse.
Reading a Quote Like an Expert
Six things should be unambiguous in any Costa del Sol management contract:
- Is the holiday commission on gross rent or net of platform fees?
- What does the keyholding retainer include, and how many visits?
- What is the call-out fee, and the out-of-hours surcharge?
- How large is the maintenance float, and what is the spend ceiling before they must call you?
- Does cleaning carry a margin, and who pays it?
- What is the notice period — one to three months at year-end is normal.
A clear, itemised quote is itself a good sign. Vague “all-in” percentages with no breakdown are where owners overpay.
A Free, No-Obligation Enquiry
Costa del Sol Habitat is not a property manager — we are an independent connector. We match absentee owners from Estepona to Nerja with vetted local caretakers, holiday-let managers and long-term agents, and we will read an existing quote with you to check it is fair. The service costs you nothing. If you would like a no-obligation review or two or three comparable introductions, get in touch and we will help you find the right fit.