Canarian estate agents warn: holiday rental owners won’t switch to long-term lets
Estate agents in the Canary Islands are warning that owners of holiday rental properties have no intention of switching to long term lets, despite calls from the Spanish Government to return thousands of properties to the residential rental market.
In September, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced plans to ask platforms such as Airbnb to remove 53,000 holiday homes across Spain, which included 8,700 in the Canary Islands, after detecting irregularities. The government’s aim is to encourage these homes to be converted into residential rentals to help ease the housing crisis.
However, Cristina García Chagrín, spokesperson for the Canarian Association of Real Estate Management Companies (ACEGI), said the prime minister is “ignoring the rights of property owners”, and that many have no intention of changing how they use their properties.
Legal uncertainty and lack of trust
According to García Chagrín, the main reason landlords resist moving to long-term rentals, especially in tourist areas, is legal uncertainty, worsened by Spain’s 2023 Housing Law, which many see as unfair and biased against owners.
“The rise in holiday rentals isn’t just about profit,” she explained. “It’s because many owners feel unprotected. The experts have been saying it for years, they’ve been left out of the equation.”
She added that the government’s request to withdraw online listings “does not mean removing homes from the market,” and questioned why Sánchez insists on dictating how private properties should be used. “These homes belong to their owners, and they will decide what to do with them,” she said.
‘If I can’t rent it to tourists, I’ll sell it or leave it empty’
García Chagrín said that many owners would rather sell or leave their properties empty than rent them to residents or families, especially given the lack of legal safeguards against problematic tenants. Some are opting for medium-term rentals, such as to professionals or students, instead of committing to long-term contracts.
“Maybe some will return to the residential market, but only because they want to, not because the government orders it,” she added. “They’re playing with people’s assets.”
While ACEGI supports clear regulation and reasonable limits on holiday rentals, García Chagrín said the real solution lies in building more homes to expand supply. “The Canarian Government has already taken steps, but it’s a slow process, it won’t happen overnight,” she noted.
She also pointed to the draft law on sustainable housing use being developed by the regional government, which aims to ensure that all newly built homes are designated for residential use from the start, a measure she believes could help ease the housing pressure over time.
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