This guide covers penthouses on the Costa del Sol as they stand in October 2026: what one costs, what the top floor adds over the same home lower down, how the terraces are counted, who owns the roof, and the checks I make before a buyer commits. The figures come from the developers’ price lists for the 264 new developments I can show you and from the resale penthouses I list. The rules come from the Civil Code and the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, linked where they apply.
What a penthouse is here
In Spain a penthouse (ático) is a home on the top floor of a building. On this coast it usually comes with a larger terrace than the floors below, and often with a second, private terrace on the roof, called a solarium. A duplex penthouse has two levels joined by its own stair. At Tiara in La Quinta the penthouses have their living floor below and a roof solarium above, with a small private pool. At The Oak 48 in Estepona each of the twelve penthouses has a roof terrace reached by its own metal staircase.
Of the 264 new developments on file, 117 sell penthouses, and 377 are on the current price lists. Most have two or three bedrooms. They run from €305,000 for a two-bedroom penthouse at Sea Views in Torrox to €6,900,000 at Atelier 4 in Estepona. Half of them cost less than €833,700. Thirty-nine are under €500,000, and 122 are at €1,000,000 or more.
At the top of the lists, the penthouses at Málaga Towers, on Málaga’s western seafront, each have two levels and a private infinity pool on the roof, from €4,408,000 before IVA. The penthouse at Earth, on the hillside above the Golden Mile, has a roof terrace of 137 m² with a private pool, at €5,350,000 before IVA.
What the top floor adds to the price
The same home costs more on the top floor. Across the 107 developments on file that list both penthouses and apartments with their built areas, the penthouses cost more per built square metre than the apartments in 100 of them, and by a median of 29%.
The Oak 48 shows it plan for plan. A two-bedroom home of 69.78 m² is €430,000 on the second floor, with a terrace of 7.64 m², and €545,200 as a penthouse, with 28.21 m². A three-bedroom home of 91.68 m² is €517,000 on the first floor, with 26.18 m² of terrace, and €884,500 on the top floor, where the terraces come to 142.18 m². Seven of the twelve penthouses there have a roof terrace with a private pool of 3 by 2 metres, the developer states.
At Altos del Chaparral, on the hill at El Chaparral in Mijas, a two-bedroom apartment of 80.26 m² on the second floor, with 26.71 m² of terrace, is €485,000. The two-bedroom penthouse of 80 m² has 169.28 m² of terrace and costs €780,000. Three of the seven developments on file at El Chaparral sell penthouses, from €749,000 at Vitta Marina to €2,206,000 at Elysea Suites, where the penthouse has a pergola terrace, a roof solarium and a plunge pool.
What the extra money buys is mostly outside space. The median penthouse terrace on the lists is about 75 m², against about 29 m² for the apartments in the same developments. Price the terrace as what it is: a large share of the money, with its own upkeep.
How the area is counted
Compare like with like, because penthouse figures are stated in different ways.
The developers’ price lists give the terrace separately from the built area, and a developer’s built area includes a share of the communal parts, which a resale listing usually does not. Some resale listings fold the terraces into the built figure. Penthouse Estelle in Lomas del Rey, on the Golden Mile, lists 276 m² built, a figure that includes about 114 m² of terraces. Penthouse Lina in Real de La Quinta lists 334 m², which counts its terraces and its 128 m² roof solarium, with 138 m² inside. The listing for Penthouse Colgantes, above the Golden Mile, does not say whether its 420 m² includes the terraces, which is the first thing I would ask.
I compare the floor area inside the walls first, then price the terraces separately, against recent sales of penthouses in the same building or estate rather than a district average.
Who owns the roof
The roof of a building is a common element. Article 396 of the Civil Code lists the roofs (cubiertas) among the parts every owner shares, along with the structure and the facades, including the outside of terraces and balconies. A penthouse’s roof terrace is therefore one of two things. Either the deed describes it as part of the penthouse, or it is a shared roof whose use belongs to the penthouse alone.
The deed, the Land Registry extract and the community’s statutes say which. What they say shapes who pays when the waterproofing fails, and what you may build on the terrace. On Penthouse Lina, for example, I would have the lawyer confirm how the roof solarium is recorded in the title deeds and the licences before anything else.
Glass, pools and roofs on the terrace
Penthouse terraces attract additions: glass to enclose part of them, a fixed roof over a solarium, a hot tub, a pool. Article 7 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal lets an owner alter the inside of a home only where the work leaves the building’s safety, its structure and its outside appearance untouched, and only after telling the community. Anything beyond that needs the owners’ agreement, and building work needs the town hall’s approval as well.
On a resale penthouse, every addition should be licensed and on the paperwork. For the pool on Penthouse Colgantes’ roof terrace, and for its renovation, I would have the lawyer confirm the permits.
On a new build, what is drawn is not always what is included. At Lomas del Higuerón 3 and Horizon 36, both in El Higuerón, hot tubs are drawn on the roof terraces, and whether one comes with each penthouse is a question to have answered in writing. At Armonía in San Pedro de Alcántara, the drawing of a duplex penthouse’s roof solarium shows the private pool as an option.
Heat, water and the plant on the roof
On the top floor, the roof is your ceiling. Four things deserve a careful look.
- Waterproofing and drainage. Look for staining on the ceilings under the terraces, check that the terrace floors fall to their drains, and on a resale ask the community when the roof was last waterproofed. A survey covers the roof and the waterproofing of terraces, and on an older penthouse it is worth having.
- Heat. Under the energy-saving section of the building code, a new building’s envelope, roof included, has to limit the energy needed to keep it comfortable. An older building was built to earlier rules, and its energy certificate describes the insulation it has. Shade matters too: pergolas, awnings and which way the terrace faces.
- What else is on the roof. Air-conditioning units and the building’s shared solar panels often sit on the roof. Some buildings put the shared pool there too, as at Fuente Lirios in Benahavís village and Laguna Nova in Mijas. Ask where each sits in relation to the penthouse terraces.
- Getting up there. Check that the lift reaches the penthouse floor. A roof terrace is usually reached by a stair, inside or out.
The community share and the running costs
Every home’s share of the community’s costs is fixed in the deed. Article 5 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal bases it on the home’s useful area, its position inside or outside the building, its situation and the use it can be expected to make of the shared services. A large penthouse can carry a large share, and the share applies to every bill, including any special levy.
The resale penthouses I list show the scale. Penthouse Estelle pays €650 a month to the community and €1,548 a year in IBI. Penthouse Lina pays €538 a month and €823 in IBI, Penthouse Colgantes €828 a month and €2,359, and Alba Residence in Sierra Blanca €433 a month and €1,505. Read the share and the community’s accounts together, as the guide to community fees sets out. At the top of the price range, the wealth tax guide is worth reading before you commit.
New build or resale
A new-build penthouse is priced before tax, with IVA at 10% and stamp duty at 1.2% on top. A resale pays the 7% transfer tax instead. With the notary, the registry and the lawyer, that comes to about 12 to 14% on a new build and about 10 to 11% on a resale, as the guide to buying costs sets out.
The choice also changes what you can check. Off plan, you choose the penthouse from the plans, and the terrace, its drains and its finish can only be checked once the building is finished, which is what the checks before you take the keys cover. A resale penthouse can be seen in every season, and its history is in the community’s minutes.
The view from the top
The view is most of what a penthouse sells, and it is only as lasting as what can be built in front of it. Of the 46 developments on the sea-view list, 24 sell penthouses. How to check a view, and what the town plan allows on the plots below, is in the guide to sea-view property.
How I handle it
For a penthouse I start with the paperwork for the roof. I check how the terraces and any solarium are described in the deed and at the Land Registry, what the statutes say about using them, and whether every addition has its permits. I ask the developer or the seller for the floor area inside the walls and the terrace areas separately, so you can compare one penthouse with another, and with the apartment below it.
On the visit I look at the ceilings, the drains, the plant on the roof and the shade at the hours you would use the terrace. On a resale I suggest a survey when the building’s age calls for one. If a penthouse is on your list, book a call and we can go through the ones that fit your budget. Buying with me sets out how I work.
Common questions
How much does a penthouse cost on the Costa del Sol?
How much more does a penthouse cost than an apartment in the same building?
Who pays to repair a penthouse roof terrace in Spain?
Can I put glass or a pool on a penthouse terrace in Spain?
Do penthouses pay more in community fees?
What this relates to
