With the announcement of the new Sustainable Planning Law of the tourist use of housing that on January 16, 2025 entered the Canarian Parliament and is still in process, it will mean a series of changes to which the owners of holiday housing will have to be adapted.
Content
This new Vacation Housing Law in the Canary Islands, seeks to maintain a balance between the tourist and residential use of housing. between April and May 2025 , in a context in which the growth of holiday housing in the area is beginning to cause some socioeconomic tension is expected .
The new Vacation Housing Law in the Canary Islands is still being discussed among the different parliamentary groups, forced to define details to be specified and capes to tie, generating uncertainty in the Canarian tourism sector. The continuous delays become unlikely that it enters into force before the end of 2025. After the closure of the amendment period (June 30), the text will enter the presentation, then it will be discussed and finally voted in full.
The municipalities will have the responsibility of deciding which areas are optimal for the implementation of new tourist homes and which are not. The municipalities are expected to be able to deal with supply and demand, in addition to managing tensioning tourist areas, guaranteeing a sufficient offer of residential housing.
One of the novelties that this law brings is that a house can be called for consolidated tourist use . This implies that housing will exclusively have a tourist use and will never be used as usual residence. The declaration of a home as a tourist use, will be valid for 5 years and will be renewable through a new responsible statement . In order to declare a home as a tourist use, the owners must provide a series of requirements to demonstrate that the house was legally enabled as a holiday.
This new law provides stability to those owners who want to ensure their property for the reception of medium-long term tourists , in this way, they may plan fiscal and administrative management.
Depending on the municipality and the criteria with which each town hall acts, there will be a building limit to those homes that are destined for holiday rental. In some cases, only 10% of the new buildings may be used for holiday housing. This percentage could decrease in certain islands to put natural resources at risk, such as El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma.
To be able to dedicate a housing for holiday rental in the Canary Islands, they must be at least 10 years old . But ... what will happen when those 10 years go by? The objective is that in those 10 years, you can adapt the house to the requirements of the legislation in force at that time.
In the event that the statutes of the community of owners prohibit vacation rentals in any community housing, a tourist home cannot be implemented , even if all the requirements are met. Owners must review and adapt community agreements and statutes in the event that they have the idea of allocating a home use in a community in which vacation rentals are prohibited.
As expected, it is totally forbidden to urbanize with tourist intentions in protected soils due to the large amount of natural and landscape resources that house.
The different councils must prepare prior inspection plans for at least 5 years in order to enforce the new Vacation Housing Law.
Each house destined for tourist rent in the Canary Islands must be registered in the Single Tourist Rental Registry and show a unique number in ads.
The owners and agencies to which the new Canary Islands holiday law has impacts have reacted instantly when the first regulations are known.
They consider that the law could seriously harm the local economy , which will negatively influence small businesses and the decline in overnight stays in the islands.
On the other hand, the owners fear that many authorizations can be revoked or easily modified. This will lead to some uncertainty and deterrence by possible interested investors.
The ASCAV (Canarian holiday rental association) warns that "the new law could devastate the Canarian economy" and has already filed resources before the TSJC and it is estimated that around 25000 homes, located in extrahotheler complexes, could be left in a legal limbo or forced to change their use.
Try the Check-in Scan app
Create personalized rental contracts and automatically check-in your guests at the corresponding authorities
The new Vacation Rental Law in the Canary Islands aims to balance tourist and residential use, but the lack of clear definitions generates uncertainty in the sector , making it difficult to plan the owners and investors. In addition, by granting the municipalities the power to decide where vacation rental is allowed, inequalities could be generated between municipalities, affecting the offer and causing a housekeeping in certain areas.
The restrictions imposed by the regulations could also negatively impact the local economy , since a lower investment in holiday homes could harm small businesses that depend on tourism and reduce the number of overnight stays in the islands. Although the figure of "consolidated tourist use" offers some stability to owners, the need for renewal every five years maintains uncertainty and could discourage new investments.
Another factor that limits the expansion of vacation rental is the greatest decision -making power granted to the communities of owners , who can prohibit this activity within their properties, further reducing the offer and generating possible conflicts between neighbors with opposite interests. Likewise, the requirement that homes are at least ten years old before being rented paralyzes the modernization of real estate park and discourages the construction of more sustainable accommodations and adapted to the new market demands.
