The Canarian Government yesterday presented the draft of its new Law on Holiday Rentals, which will devolve the regulation of this sector to local councils and establish a 10% limit of holiday rental premises on the main tourist islands.
After amendment processes, the law is expected to be approved by the end of the year, after which each of the 88 Canarian Ayuntamientos will have five years to establish their own local regulations.
The proposed law appears to be stricter than expected, establishing a ten-year waiting period for anyone who wishes to convert the use of their property from residential to tourist use. Requirements of quality and sustainability will be tightened up and all holiday rental properties will be subject to an inspection. If they fail this inspection, they will be penalised by being forbidden from carrying out tourist activity for 10 years.
The law also states that no new rental properties will be authorised in residential areas that have been officially declared as “stressed”.
The demanding nature of the new law means that there is likely to be a bubble in the holiday rental sector over the next few months, as owners rush to register properties that do not fall under the law. In the short term this is unlikely to do anything to relieve the acute housing crisis on the islands.
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