What a coast flat is really like in January.

The Costa del Sol is mild in winter. A lot of its flats aren't. Here's what to check before you buy one you'll use between November and March.

The weather is the easy part

Málaga in January averages about 17°C by day, which is why people come. The nights are the part nobody mentions: the average low is 7.4°C, and December and February are much the same. Winter is also when the rain comes. December averages about 100mm over six or seven wet days and January about 70mm. So you get plenty of bright days, a handful of grey wet ones, and cold evenings either way.

Spanish flats were built for August

Spain had no rules at all on insulating a building until 1979, when the first thermal standard came in (NBE-CT-79), and those rules were modest. Proper modern standards only arrived with the building code of 2006, the Código Técnico de la Edificación. Across Málaga province, 36% of homes are in buildings put up in or before 1980, and about nine in ten were built before 2011, according to the 2021 census.

In practice that often means single glazing, no insulation in the walls, tiled floors and no central heating. Fine in July. In January a north-facing flat like that holds the cold, and on a sunny day it can be warmer out on the promenade at lunchtime than in the living room that evening.

Three things to check on any flat

The build year. It's on the nota simple and the catastro record, and your lawyer will have both. A building from before 1980 isn't a reason to walk away, but it tells you what to expect unless the flat has been done up properly, with new windows and some insulation.

Which way it faces. A south-facing flat gets the winter sun into the rooms for most of the day and can be comfortable with very little heating. North-facing gets none. Ask, and if you can, see it in the afternoon.

What the heating actually is. Look at the wall units. A split air-conditioning unit that also heats (a heat pump, "bomba de calor") costs a good deal less to run than plug-in electric radiators for the same warmth, because it moves heat in from outside instead of making it. If the only heating is a few oil-filled radiators and a gas bottle heater, budget for that, or for putting a heat pump in.

If you're wintering, not living here

Most of the Irish who come for the winter are here from November to March. That's exactly the stretch when a cold flat costs you, in comfort and on the electricity bill, so getting the orientation and heating right is worth more than an extra bedroom you'll use twice. Our Wintering in Spain guide covers the tax days, healthcare and the car, and what it costs to own has the yearly bills.

If you're looking at a flat and want a second opinion on what it'll be like in January, book a call and we'll tell you straight.