The Barcelona City Council has suspended for one year the granting of new licenses for 24-hour self-service and super-service stores. The Governing Commission approved the measure on May 20, 2026, and links it to the drafting of new commercial planning.
The decision comes in a city with about 1,300 establishments for personalized sales or self-service dedicated to everyday food products, and with a framework that exempts premises up to 300 square meters from regional hourly limitations. This is where the underlying tension that the council wants to address emerges, because a large part of the most widespread format fits precisely within that threshold.
The moratorium halts new licenses in stores up to 400 square meters
The suspension affects several commercial typologies. It includes the versatile food store, the self-service store from 60 to less than 150 square meters, the super-service store from 150 to less than 400 square meters, the super-service store with meat product sales from 250 to less than 400 square meters, and the convenience store.
Furthermore, the agreement halts both new licenses and communications for implementation or expansion works. Areas that already have their own regulations, as well as municipal markets, are excluded from this suspension.
The municipal government justifies the measure by the need to protect local commerce, preserve commercial diversity, and prevent saturation and monoculture in certain areas of Barcelona.
Barcelona detected non-compliance in more than 230 premises inspected
The moratorium will coexist with continuous inspection action through multi-inspection campaigns. Personnel from the Directorate of Inspection Services, the districts, the Barcelona Urban Guard, the Mossos d'Esquadra, the National Police, the Barcelona Public Health Agency, Labor Inspectors, and the Municipal Institute of Finance participate in these operations.
During this term, the City Council has promoted 14 multi-inspection campaigns in various districts. In that period, the teams inspected more than 230 premises and detected non-compliance in all inspections.
This result supports the municipal dual approach to this type of activity, with the temporary suspension of new openings on one hand and controls on existing businesses on the other. Eixample concentrated the most extensive action within these campaigns.
In December 2024, the most notable campaign inspected 112 establishments in the Eixample district.