The Canary Islands new controversial holiday rental law

Erardo Ferrer, of Lanzarote Abogados, highlights some of the main provisions of the controversial new Canarian law affecting holiday rentals.

The Law on Sustainable Planning of Tourist Use of Housing was approved by the Canarian Government last November and officially published on December 15, 2025.

It states that no new holiday homes may be built for a maximum period of five years, until municipalities have a municipal plan authorizing them. The objective of the law is for 90% of the homes in any given area to be designated for residential use and only 10% for holiday use.

In Yaiza, for example, in December 2024, 22% of registered homes were holiday homes. The new law obliges the City Council to reduce this to at least 10% of the total registered homes.

However, what is most likely to affect many rental owners are the stricter requirements for holiday rentals to be classed as “classified activities”, especially regarding safety, health, urban planning, technical aspects, habitability, and accessibility.

There is no doubt that not having your activities classified puts you outside the law. The requirement for classified activities was mandatory under the previous law, but it is even more so under the new one. This is because the authority to control holiday rental licenses has been transferred to the councils, and classification of activities falls directly under their jurisdiction. As a result, the first reduction in holiday rental licenses that the municipalities will implement will affect those properties that, despite having a holiday rental license and marketing code, lack the required classification of their activities.

Minister Jessica De León, of the Canarian Government, expressly stated after the law’s approval that small property owners who comply with the current decree can continue operating normally, making a special appeal to all holiday rental owners to continue submitting their classified activity documentation. The warning is clear.

The procedure for classified activities is very similar to the procedure required for a shop or café, and requires, among other certifications, a technical certificate, drafted and signed by a qualified professional and endorsed by the corresponding professional association, which certifies the compatibility of the planned activity with the Canary Islands Tourism Planning Law and all other applicable sector-specific regulations, especially those related to urban planning, safety, health, habitability, accessibility, and, in general, classified activities.

This includes a site plan and floor plans of the dwelling showing its current layout and dimensions, as well as compliance with current fire regulations.

Some of these certificates cannot be issued by an architect but require an engineer and a certified installer. As a result, we work directly with these professionals, avoiding higher costs for our clients and offering a complete service with a fixed price from the outset.

There is no deadline for submitting the classified activities, but my recommendation is to do so now, and especially before the 6-month period following the date the Law comes into effect and before the municipalities begin to exercise their new functions.

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