Renovations in Mijas Pueblo, La Cala & urbanisations

Renovating in Mijas is unlike anywhere else on the Costa del Sol, because Mijas is really three places in one. There's the whitewashed mountain village clinging to the Sierra, with its protected pueblo aesthetic; there's Las Lagunas, the busy urban and commercial hub next to Fuengirola; and there's the 12-kilometre coastal strip of Mijas Costa, dotted with urbanisations like Calahonda and Riviera del Sol where close to half the residents are British or Nordic. At Costa del Sol Reformas we've delivered more than 500 projects reading those differences: modernising a 2000s-boom apartment is nothing like restoring a traditional village home. Our own in-house team, a 5-year guarantee and project management in Spanish, English and German keep your renovation moving from the first quote to the final handover.

Where we renovate

• Mijas Pueblo. The historic core of the white village on the slopes of the Sierra de Mijas. Work here is mostly restoration of traditional whitewashed homes, within a protected aesthetic overseen by the Town Hall and narrow streets that shape site logistics.
• La Cala de Mijas. A former fishing village turned into the heart of the coast. Lots of beachfront apartments and townhouses, with renovations geared to holiday lets and second homes.
• Calahonda (Sitio de Calahonda). Mijas's largest residential area, developed since 1963 with a huge mix from studios to villas. A strong British community and plenty of twenty-year-old-plus property needing kitchens, bathrooms and services modernised.
• Riviera del Sol. A golf-side urbanisation dominated by boom-era apartments and townhouses, many used for holidays. Typical jobs are kitchen, bathroom and terrace updates for rental or resale.
• Las Lagunas. Mijas's urban and commercial zone, next to Fuengirola and the most densely populated part of the municipality. Here the demand is full flat renovations for local families and fit-outs of commercial premises.
• El Coto. An established residential urbanisation in Mijas Costa, with mature townhouses, chalets and villas. Mid-life renovations dominate: open-plan kitchens, bathrooms, floors and improvements to gardens and pools.

The property market in Mijas

Mijas's housing stock is dominated by property from the great 2000s boom: thousands of apartments, townhouses and villas built across Calahonda, Riviera del Sol, La Cala and El Coto for British and Irish buyers. Much of that stock is now twenty years old or more and is squarely in its modernisation cycle: dated kitchens and bathrooms, glazed-in terraces, floors crying out for porcelain tile and air-conditioning that no longer performs. Two very Mijas extremes sit either side of it: the pool-and-garden villas on the hills beside the golf courses, which call for high-end full renovations, and the traditional whitewashed homes of the village, where sympathetic restoration within a protected aesthetic is the rule. Each type needs its own approach.

Building permits in Mijas

In Mijas, permits run through the Town Hall's Urbanismo department. For minor works — an interior renovation that doesn't touch structure, volume or use — a Declaración Responsable de Obras lets you start straight away by filing a budget, cadastral reference, photos and sketches. Major works (extensions, structural changes, a new pool) do require a technical project and a full licence. You'll pay ICIO (3.2%) plus the urban-planning fee (around 1.8%, €65 minimum). One very Mijas point: many coastal urbanisations are not yet formally "received" by the Town Hall and have their own community rules. We handle the paperwork for you.

Renovation costs in Mijas

As a rough guide, a full renovation of a coastal apartment in Mijas typically starts around €600–900/m², while high-end homes and pool villas comfortably run higher. Very local factors weigh in: awkward access to hillside plots beside the golf courses, the finish level the expat buyer expects, and — in the village — the extra cost of respecting the protected whitewashed aesthetic. After a site survey we give you a closed, fixed price with no surprises.