Úbeda approves the reform of the Market Hall ordinance

The Úbeda City Council has definitively approved the modification of the Regulatory Ordinance of the Municipal Market Service in its articles 10, 26, and 33, after no claims were submitted during the public information process. The reform is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Jaén, number 172, dated September 4, 2026, with the reference 2026/4000.

The agreement was initially approved by the Plenary of the Corporation in an ordinary session held on June 25, 2026. Since no allegations were formulated within the public exhibition period provided for in article 49 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of Local Regime (LRBRL), the agreement has become definitive and will enter into force once its text is published and the period specified in article 65.2 of the same law has elapsed.

Awarding of stalls by competition

The new article 10, “Form and procedure for awarding,” establishes that the awarding of vacant permanent stalls will be carried out, as a general rule, through a competition procedure, guaranteeing the principles of publicity, transparency, objectivity, equal treatment, and free competition. The evaluation will be based on the weighting of several general criteria:

• Economic offer: minimum weighting of 50% of the total score for the upward proposal over the starting fee.
• Commercial diversification: higher score for activities or products that are absent or underrepresented.
• Investment plan and technical viability: capital committed to renovation, modernization, or eco-efficient machinery.
• Professional excellence and accredited experience: documented years of practice and quality distinctions.
• Job creation and promotion of self-employment: commitment to hiring or exiting long-term unemployment.

Those who have been sanctioned by a final resolution for serious or very serious infractions are excluded. Ties will be resolved by public draw, and exceptional direct awarding is contemplated when a competition remains vacant, subject to a technical-legal report and within a maximum period of six months.

Indemnities for termination and temporary closure

Article 26 regulates the right to indemnity for the termination of the concession and for the temporary closure of the market. In the event of termination, concessionaires who legally exercised their activity will be indemnified based on loss of profits and non-amortized investments, updating net returns to the legal interest rate and considering the average of the last three years accredited through tax and census declarations.

Compensation shall also be provided, exceptionally, for the temporary closure of the market due to construction works or other causes of public interest when such closure exceeds one year and there is no possibility of relocation. The application must be submitted within a maximum period of one year from the notification of the agreement of extinction or suspension.

Construction Obligations

Article 33, “Obligations with respect to works,” maintains that concessionaires must carry out the necessary finishing works and installations at their own expense, which shall become municipal property when permanently attached to the property. Conservation and repair works shall be the responsibility of the holders, and no work may be carried out without prior permission from the City Council.

The council may agree to the temporary suspension, total or partial, of the activity when it is essential for conservation, rehabilitation, modernization, accessibility, or energy efficiency works, and concessionaires must vacate the property within one month. The suspension shall not entail the extinction of the enabling titles nor alter their period of validity.

Against the agreement, which concludes the administrative route, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, based in Granada, within a period of two months. The reform directly affects the merchants and concessionaires of the market and future bidders, who will see the rules of competition, compensations, and construction obligations clarified.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Jaén, number 172, September 4, 2026, Local Administration, page 13301 (official reference: 2026/4000).