D-Day is arriving for people renting out properties as holiday lets
Thousands of small and medium-sized holiday rental owners across the Canary Islands are on tenterhooks as the regional government prepares to approve new legislation that could prevent the majority of them from holiday letting their apartments and force them out of business.
This Wednesday, the Canary Islands Parliament is expected to pass the new Law on Sustainable Regulation of Tourist Housing, which, according to the Canarian Association of Holiday Rentals (ASCAV), will leave around 90% of current operators unable to continue.
The key issue, they say, is the requirement for a municipal “Classified Activities Certificate”, a bureaucratic hurdle that most private owners cannot meet.
The certificate was created in 2011 for other types of commercial activity and does not take into account the existence of holiday homes, which were only formally regulated under Decree 113/2015. ASCAV claims it has spent years urging the regional government to update the regulation, but says the new law has moved forward “without consensus” and without considering industry proposals, despite backing from Coalición Canaria (CC) and the Partido Popular (PP).
ASCAV also accuses the government of “demonising” the sector, pointing out that at national level the Canary Islands signed the Seville Declaration, alongside thirteen other regions, which recognises that Spain’s housing crisis is a “structural issue unrelated to tourism” and highlights the positive role of holiday rentals in revitalising urban centres.
The association cites studies from the Las Palmas College of Economists, the Economic and Social Council, and several legal experts supporting its view. It warns that approving the law in its current form would have “catastrophic consequences” for thousands of families and small businesses managing tourist accommodation.
According to ASCAV, 67% of holiday homes could not convert to residential use, as many are located within tourist-residential complexes. Meanwhile, it criticises the government for failing to address the 211,000 empty homes identified across the islands, noting that a recent €8 million public housing initiative managed to secure only one property.
ASCAV argues the proposed law favours large investors and property funds at the expense of local families who have sustained the model for years. The group urges the government to “show sensitivity” and reconsider before it’s too late, warning that the law could erase a sector worth over €2 billion annually, while also cutting tax revenue from IGIC and IRPF.
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