The Canary Islands are at a crossroads.
Trying to balance the need for tourism with the preservation of local quality of life and sustainability of the Islands themselves.
New laws and regulations will aim to manage tourist accommodation more effectively but recent local protests and official statements are highlighting the ongoing debate over the future of tourism here in Tenerife and the Canary Islands in general.
Canary Islands’ Plan to Introduce New Law to Manage Tourist Accommodation
The government’s plan, and I should point out that all of this is still to be agreed and confirmed later in the year, is going to introduce new laws to better manage tourist accommodation.
They say the aim is for sustainable development and improved living conditions for local residents.
Of course, as we know, being a government, it could all be hot air but we still need to take note of what’s being said and prepare for the new rules and laws.
We need to be aware about how they plan to develop sustainable tourism and if you’re a property owner here, you might need to know more about the holiday rental laws in Tenerife and the Canary islands, in case they come to fruition.
Key Points of the New Law
Objective and Scope
- Main Goal – Provide city councils with the tools to plan and organise tourist accommodation.
- Residential Allocation – 90% of residential buildable areas must be designated for permanent residences, with 80% for Green Islands.
Regulations for Holiday Homes
Standards – Holiday homes must meet minimum sustainability, quality, and competitiveness standards.- Transition Period – Existing holiday homes will have five years to comply with new criteria.
- Inspections – Regular checks will ensure compliance. Non-compliance results in a 10-year tourism ban.
Tourist Apartments
Current Statistics
Let’s look at what’s currently going on in the Canary Islands.
Idealista, the Spanish property portal, reports that there are currently 53,938 registered tourist apartments in the Canary Islands.
Those holiday rental properties offer 220,409 places and this is a 39.7% increase since November 2022.
Here’s what they say is the distribution across the islands:
Tenerife: 22,756- Gran Canaria: 13,229
- Lanzarote: 7,577
- Fuerteventura: 7,046
- La Palma: 1,667
- La Gomera: 1,119
- El Hierro: 544
As you’d imagine, Tenerife has the highest amount of registered rental properties.
Having spoken to “a man, that knows a man” (who works in the government department that authorizes VV licenses in the Canary Islands) – I found out that in their opinion you can probably add an extra 40% on top of those numbers for properties that are being rented illegally.
Although Tenerife has the highest number of registered holiday rental properties, there are certain municipalities through the Canary Islands that have particularly high concentrations of holiday homes.
- Yaiza: 22%
- La Oliva: 21.5%
- Adeje: 13.35%
- San Bartolomé de Tirajana: 10.62%
- Hermigua: 10.72%
Official Statements and Reactions
Minister’s View
- Jéssica de León, Minister of Tourism and Employment – Emphasises that the proposed law balances housing rights, business freedom, and the preservation of Canarian identity.
Criticism
- Canarian Vacation Rental Association (Ascav) – Criticises the law for excluding certain property types and imposing restrictive conditions.
I take from the above comments that the Government is trying to speak to the “people”, to get on their side and to appear to be doing the right thing to increase the amount of residential homes for their and their family’s residential use.
AsCAV are right in criticising the law…imposing restrictive conditions, they will exclude certain properties from the new laws.
My problem with this is that many of the properties built for vacation use were built in the 60s, 70s and 80’s where, although very wrongly, little to no consideration was given to handicapped and wheelchair bound users.
Lifts in certain complexes and ease of access were never considered.
If lifts will be the requirement of the new rulings, this may well preclude a good number of properties that could be rented to holiday makers.
Clearly, modifications to properties will need to be carried out…in fact, in some cases, modifications to whole complexes, but totally banning certain properties from being offered at all, doesn’t seem to be the right or fair decision.
I also came across the following points on new build regulations, town planning, planning restrictions and the local Council’s role and also how the new laws should be implemented.
New Build Regulations
- Residential Use – New builds must be residential for at least ten years before being used as holiday homes.
- Requirements – Starting tourism activities requires a responsible declaration, a technical report, and an urban planning certificate.
Municipal Planning and Tools
- Councils’ Role – Councils can designate specific areas for tourist apartments.
- Tracking Tool – Introduction of the Holiday Housing Dashboard for real-time tracking of holiday accommodation.
Restrictions on Residential Plots
- Usage Limits – Residential plots cannot be used exclusively for tourist accommodation.
- Change from Current Rules – Current regulations allow any home to be used for tourist purposes with a declaration.
Local Councils’ Role
- Ensuring Compliance – Councils must ensure enough land for permanent housing and compliance with sustainability indicators.
- Proof of Compatibility – Developments must show they are compatible with both residential and tourist uses.
Implementation and Compliance
- Starting Activities – Requires a responsible declaration and necessary documents.
- Welfare Homes – Homes under public welfare systems cannot be used for tourism.
A lot of this makes real sense.
Building properties for vacation use and keeping to a strict policy would be the best way forward.
Government should be developing more social housing with a policy of only locals being allowed to buy or rent these properties.
On my last trip to the UK I was talking to locals and heard that there are certain towns on the outskirts of larger towns that are restricting property buyers to only those who have lived in those outlying towns for 10 years or more.
My own feeling is (maybe this is from my days of growing up in the Thatcher era) but those buyers shouldn’t be allowed to sell for 10 years after buying either…therefore restricting the flood of properties for sale in those areas.
This will definitely not be attractive to those investors wanting to come in and make a quick buck by buying and selling.
So, we’ve looked at what might come into force in the future, but how does that affect what’s been happening on the ground over recent months.
The tabloids have had a field day with their far fetching headlines.
OK, there’ve certainly been some placard waving rallies, but these haven’t been violent and certainly haven’t been targeted at tourists…it’s the over tourism of the islands that these locals are concerned about.
What did the rallies look like?
Call for Tourism Evolution
Higher Quality Tourism – Carlos Terife, First Deputy Mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife emphasises attracting higher quality tourism to mitigate the negative impacts of mass tourism…more on him later.- Desired Changes – Focus on tourists engaging with local products and culture rather than all-inclusive hotel stays.
Local Protests Against Mass Tourism
Protest Reasons
- Locals demand a temporary cap on tourist numbers to control property prices and improve residents’ quality of life.
Protest Details
- Protestors carried placards with messages like “We don’t want to see our island die,” “Stop Hotels,” and “Canaries not for sale.”
Statements from Protesters
- Calls to end the destructive tourism model harming resources and the economy.
Other Spanish towns and cities are also affected.
It’s not just Tenerife or the Canary Islands that are facing this problem either.
Barcelona, Madrid and Andalucia have all seen anti-tourism rallies in some form or another.
But if you’re coming to the Canary Islands on holiday, don’t pay any attention to the tabloid over-egging of the situation.
Yes, the Government needs to think about how to handle the tourism here, it really is too much for the islands, I don’t think anyone is denying that, but tourism still exists, it needs to for the islands to maintain their economic stability, but it’s the way in which it exists is what needs to be assessed.
How is all of this affecting tourists and their opinions of the Canary Islands?
Clearly, if there seems to be a general air of anti-tourist feelings, tourists are likely going to be put off coming to the Canary Islands, especially those that don’t have property here.
If they have the option of being here or somewhere else, there’s a chance that they’ll choose somewhere else.
Even Carlos Terife (mentioned earlier in this article suggesting that higher quality tourism is what’s needed) urged British tourists to consider other destinations.
He was quoted as saying on a Tenerife radio station, that the wristband wearing, all-inclusive hotel lovers should consider taking their holidays in places like the Dominican Republic.
So, if the rules for rentals, tourists and rental properties themselves are going to change…
What are the new VV licensing laws in Tenerife and the Canary Islands likely to look like?
Municipalities are eagerly awaiting the Government of the Canary Islands to approve the Law on the Regulation of Holiday Rentals, anticipated in September/October.
This law will allow municipalities to impose stricter criteria for tourist accommodations, focusing on
- Energy Efficiency
- Accessibility
- Air Conditioning
Authorities estimate that at least 10,000 holiday rental licences (VV licences) will be revoked over the next four years from properties that fail to meet the new standards.
This led me on to looking at what’s happening throughout the world…surely the Canary Islands aren’t the only tourist destination with this problem.
What’s happening throughout the world at large?
Cities like Paris and New York have implemented strict regulations to control the number of properties available for short-term rentals as well as the areas that rental properties can be situated, all of this aiming to protect housing for local residents.
Similarly, in Barcelona, the city council has taken rigorous steps to regulate holiday rentals, including hefty fines for illegal listings.
Recently the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, told a news conference he does not plan to renew any of the 10,101 tourist licences granted to landlords when they expire in November 2028.
Mr Collboni apparently said the apartments, which are currently advertised on platforms such as Airbnb and Homeaway, would be available to locals instead and that this would be the same as building 10,000 new properties.
I can’t believe that this is going to be the case, the laws that govern long-term rentals in Spain are very pro-tenant … and in a very negative way towards the property owners, so there are likely to be 10,000 new properties flooding the market in 2028 rather than 10,000 new residential homes.
Might the same happen here?
My personal opinion is that zoning and maybe rent capping would be a better answer as opposed to not renewing the VV licences.
My personal take-aways.
It’s the mass tourism that the locals are against, not the tourists themselves.
Locals are angry at the increase in property prices due to investors buying and selling properties during the last 5 years – it’s always happened but it really seems to have accelerated of late.
No clear regulation of holiday rental properties, this means that buildings or complexes once considered to be 100% residential are now mixed as tourists and residential.
The hotels and their all-inclusive deals – these don’t help local businesses survive, there’s a distinct lack of spending distributed amongst the local bars and restaurants, if the holidaymakers stay in the hotels.
The Government lacking construction of social housing – this should be done on the outskirts of the major tourists resorts and public transport links should be made easily accessible to everyone – in fact, to be fair, there’s a deal here that if you use the bus more than 15 times a month, you’re able to use it free for any trips on Tenerife.
I assume that this is a Canarian initiative and I think it’s a great step forward.
What I’d do if I was in charge…
There’d be an extra charge on rental cars used by tourists.
Extra Road Tax charges for tourist rental cars.
A daily “Holiday tax” for holidaymakers, something akin to what’s currently in force in places like Greece.
More of a holiday tax on all-inclusive hotels.
More of a tax on alcohol – 1€ pints should be stopped and the alcohol taxed at source at a higher rate…so maybe taxing the alcohol producers more and use that money to invest in social housing etc.
Increase the minimum hourly rate.
Seriously look at and investigate businesses that don’t give the correct contracts to employees for the hours worked.
Build social housing and only sell to Canarians or residents that have lived here for 10 years or more.
Those properties are not allowed to be sold until 10 years of ownership.
Final words…
I know…I’m sure there are many arguments against my “Day as President of the Canary islands” ideas.
It’s still cheap enough to live here, so if the current model of Mass Tourism is to be turned into Boutique Tourism…people will expect to pay higher prices and I think those ideas could be a step in the right direction.
Look, we all want the Canary Islands to still be one of the best holiday destinations available.
Tourism needs to continue – it’s the Canary Islands bread and butter – tomatoes and bananas aren’t going to pay all of the bills like they used to but…
…even though real estate is my line of work, I think at times that there is too much development on the island.
It’s quite a shock in some areas.
Maybe areas that I haven’t been to in a while and I see the new white villas sprouting up all over the place…
Yes, of course, it’s evolution and things can’t always stay the same, but I can genuinely see where many of the negative comments and concerns are coming from.
There, I’ve said it…
I’ve put my thoughts out there as to what the general problems are…
What I think should be done…
And, what I’d do if I was the person in power…
What do you think?
