Barcelona City Council has started work on a new ordinance to regulate street vending and occasional markets in the city. It is the first specific framework Barcelona has proposed for occasional markets, street vendors and individual stalls, and it is based on the 2017 Trade Law.
The public consultation period began on Monday after the Governing Commission published its agreements. Individuals and organisations that may be affected can now submit views before the ordinance moves on to initial approval, public exhibition and final approval by the City Plenary Council. The council expects the rules to take effect in the first quarter of 2027.
Raquel Gil, deputy mayor for economic promotion, trade, markets, restaurants and employment, said Barcelona will have its first regulation for more than 70 non-sedentary markets. She said these markets have commercial value, many have history, and they create jobs while adding to the local retail offer.
The ordinance covers itinerant markets, occasional markets and individual stalls that use demountable or transportable structures in public spaces, run by professional non-sedentary vendors on a periodic and pre-established basis. It will end collective licences and replace them with individual licences valid for 15 years, with the option of renewal.
The city says the change is meant to support the survival and profitability of the activity, while stopping intermediation among street vendors. Gil said the regulation will keep all non-sedentary markets that currently hold a licence, while also improving legal certainty and coverage for existing and future markets.
Barcelona also wants to protect its commercial heritage. In 2025, the city regularised all existing licences under the 2017 Trade Law, and these will now be set out and regulated through the new ordinance. The rules will also define conditions for each market, including location, frequency, number of stalls, opening hours and health requirements. Current licences will have a one-year adaptation period, and the city will study cases where one holder has multiple licences so the activity can continue.