Airbnb has pledged to remove over 150 illegal listings in the Canary Islands as part of a new agreement signed with the regional government, in a move aimed at bringing order to the often unregulated holiday rental market.
The platform has committed to delisting properties such as tents, boats, yurts, and vans that were being unlawfully marketed for short-term holiday lets.
The agreement, announced by Canary Islands Minister of Tourism, Jéssica de León, and Airbnb Marketing Services General Manager, Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago, mirrors similar pacts signed with authorities in Ibiza and Murcia, and comes amid increasing scrutiny of the short-term rental sector across Europe.
Effective immediately, Airbnb will require all new listings in the Canary Islands to include a valid registration number, in line with upcoming EU regulations expected to come into force in Spain this July.
The platform will also introduce a verification tool to ensure that only listings with correctly formatted and registered numbers are accepted, effectively blocking unregistered rentals from appearing on the site.
Minister de León emphasised that the aim is to restore “coexistence and balance” between tourist and residential housing. “This is about protecting the destination, ensuring fair competition for those who operate legally, and safeguarding local communities from the negative impacts of uncontrolled tourism,” she said.
As part of the agreement, Airbnb will also launch an education campaign to help hosts understand and comply with the new EU regulatory framework, which will impose stricter transparency, registration, and compliance obligations on platforms and property owners alike.
The Canary Islands government has already signed similar agreements with platforms like Booking.com, though Airbnb’s involvement is considered especially significant due to its dominant presence in the market.
De León also announced plans to strengthen the region’s tourist inspection force, which currently consists of just 14 inspectors out of an authorised team of 45. She added that the Canary Islands Police may be enlisted to support enforcement efforts by helping to digitise and monitor tourist accommodations.
The collaboration marks a broader shift toward increased oversight and regulation of the short-term rental sector, which has exploded in recent years. Since the draft holiday rental law was introduced a year ago, the Canary Islands have seen an additional 13,000 tourist apartments registered, an increase of 25.4%. The total number of holiday lets now exceeds 67,700.
The latest national legal changes have added momentum to the Canary Islands’ efforts. Spain’s newly enacted Organic Law 1/2025 strengthens the powers of property owner associations under the Horizontal Property Law, allowing them to regulate or even prohibit holiday rentals within residential complexes.
While the government promotes regulation and responsible tourism, tensions continue to mount. On Saturday, three cities in the Canary Islands will see demonstrations in defence of the right to decent housing, a growing concern in a region where locals are increasingly priced out of their communities by the tourist economy.
Minister de León insists the new legal framework represents a key turning point: “What’s at stake is coexistence. We must ensure that tourism benefits everyone, not just a few.”
