How to place an employee with mobility or accessibility needs on a multi-month Málaga assignment

Start from the employee's actual requirements, not a label

The first mistake in sourcing accessible corporate housing in Spain is treating "accessible" as a single specification. A wheelchair user, an employee recovering from surgery with six weeks of reduced mobility, someone with a chronic pain condition and a colleague with a visual impairment need four different sets of things from the same building. Before you brief a single provider, get a written list of requirements from the employee — ideally through occupational health, so the conversation stays appropriate and the information is handled properly.

The practical items worth capturing are door and corridor widths, whether the employee needs step-free access from the parking space to the bedroom, bathroom configuration (level-access shower versus bath, transfer space beside the WC), whether they will travel with equipment that needs charging or storage, what they can manage in terms of walking distance on an average day and on a difficult day, and whether they need a quiet environment for rest during the working day. That list becomes your sourcing brief. Without it, you are relying on the word "accessible" meaning the same thing to you, to the provider and to the employee, which it rarely does.

What to verify before you sign

Providers describe accessibility in good faith and still leave gaps. Ask for specifics in writing, and ask for photographs or a video walkthrough of the actual residence being offered rather than a comparable one.

• The full route, not the unit. From the parking space or the street to the front door, and from the front door to the bed. Every threshold, step and change of level on that route.
• Door widths and turning space at the entrance, bathroom and bedroom.
• Bathroom layout, including shower entry, and whether there is space to fit temporary aids if the employee brings or hires them.
• Entry method. Keyless entry removes the need to meet someone with a physical key on arrival, which matters after a long flight.
• Parking distance and surface between the space and the entrance.
• What is on the same level. A residence where living, sleeping, bathroom and workspace are on one floor removes a daily obstacle that no amount of good design elsewhere compensates for.
• Who to call on site, and how quickly a maintenance issue affecting access is resolved.

Ask the provider to confirm each point specifically. A provider willing to answer in that detail is telling you something useful about how the placement will be handled.

Accessible corporate housing in Spain: what heritage buildings can and cannot offer

Spain has accessibility requirements in its building code that apply to new construction and to major works, but older residential buildings vary enormously in practice, and the requirements that applied to any given renovation depend on its date and scope. Do not assume a period building is unsuitable, and do not assume a modern one is compliant with your employee's needs. Verify the individual property.

What a well-restored heritage building can offer is thermal and acoustic performance that a nineteenth or early twentieth-century building has no right to — upgraded wall and roof insulation, sound-insulating floating floors and independent heating and cooling — which matters more than people expect for an employee managing fatigue or pain. What it may not offer is a lift, or step-free access to every floor. The practical answer is usually one designated accessible residence rather than a building-wide claim.

At Palacete 10, a restored 1908 villa in Málaga, that residence is Toro: one en-suite bedroom, a private terrace and a private home office within the residence itself. The private office is the part that HR teams tend to appreciate on reflection — on a day when moving around is difficult, the employee can still work without leaving home, and on other days there is a residents-only work suite available on site. The other four residences and what every residence includes are set out on the residences page.

The commute and the neighbourhood matter more than the fittings

A perfectly specified residence with a difficult daily route to work is a failed placement. Check the journey the employee will actually make, in the mode they will actually use, and check what is within walking distance for the ordinary business of living.

From Palacete 10, public transport and everyday shops, cafés, supermarkets and pharmacies are a one-minute walk. Málaga Airport is 16 minutes by car and 12 km; María Zambrano station is 10 minutes and 3 km; Málaga TechPark is 19 minutes and 17 km. Each residence includes one secure on-site parking space behind a gated entrance, which for a driver or a colleague providing lifts is often the deciding factor. Full travel times are on the location page. Note that historic city centres in Spain frequently have uneven or cobbled paving; if the employee will be moving around the old town regularly, factor that in rather than assuming a short distance means an easy one.

Verify locally, and put it in the assignment letter

Some things you cannot settle from head office. Entitlement to Spanish disability recognition or parking permits, access to specialist equipment hire, medical cover under the employee's insurance or an S1/EHIC arrangement, and any tax treatment of adjustment costs all need checking with the relevant Spanish authority, your insurer and your tax adviser at the time of the placement. Rules and thresholds change; get current confirmation rather than relying on a previous assignment.

Then write the agreed adjustments into the assignment documentation, including who pays for equipment hire and what happens if the employee's needs change mid-assignment. Under the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU), temporary stays for relocating employees fall under the temporary housing regime (arrendamiento de vivienda temporal) governed by Title II, introduced by Real Decreto-ley 29/2026. The contract must expressly document a justified and demonstrable reason for the temporary stay. Because how this requirement applies when a company contracts the lease for an employee occupant is not legally settled, a Spanish lawyer should confirm the contract structure. Contracting company to company gives you a direct corporate agreement, a VAT-compliant monthly invoice and one accountable operator. Lease terms are agreed per contract. Leasing and invoicing questions are answered on the FAQ page.

If you are matching a specific requirement to a specific residence, send us the requirement list and we will tell you plainly whether Toro fits. Request availability — enquiries are answered within 24 hours.