All political groups in the Canary Islands Parliament have agreed today (Wednesday) to give the Tourism Minister, Jessica de León, full support to introduce regulations for private holiday rentals, regarding the number of properties, the location of properties where licences are issued, taxes on rental income, and including input from all relevant departments to agree on the new regulations.
De León stated that “The right to housing, sustainability, urban planning, quality of life, employment, consumer protection, and tourism are aspects that will need to be reconciled in this legislation”, during her appearance before the parliament, where she expressed that the current regulations are outdated.
It has been confirmed that consultations will begin tomorrow (Thursday) in an initial meeting with business associations, unions, The Island Cabildos, and local councils, as a preliminary step to later including all relevant sectors, universities, parliamentary groups, and government departments.
Canarias is the region with the second highest number of holiday rental properties, behind the Balearic Islands, with approximately 43,000 offering 175,000 beds, accounting for 33.5% of the island's holiday accommodation, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The current regulations were introduced in 2015, but the decree was partially annulled by the courts, meaning the general regulations affecting this sector are between 8 and 27 years old, while the explosion of this tourism model is much more recent.
The current regulations do not include tourism or urban planning, nor do they set quantitative limits. There is no regulation of quality or distinction of categories or types, not even a unified registry, and there are "worrying" cases, as highlighted by La Oliva, in Fuerteventura, where 30% of the municipality's homes are used for holiday rentals.
The Minister concluded by also criticizing the current Housing Law, stating that it "protects squatters and leaves property owners unprotected," leading to reduced supply and increased pressure on the property market.
