At the beginning of 2026, the law continues to be processed in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, after several postponements in the debate of amendments, so its entry into force is expected at the earliest for the second half of 2026.
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This new vacation housing law in the Canary Islands seeks to maintain a balance between tourist and residential use of housing. It is expected that the Law on Sustainable Planning of Tourist Use of Housing will come into force between April and May 2025, in a context where the growth of vacation housing in the area is beginning to cause certain socioeconomic tension.
The new vacation housing law in the Canary Islands is still being debated among the different parliamentary groups, obliged to define pending details and tie up loose ends, generating uncertainty in the Canary Islands tourism sector. The continuous delays make it unlikely to come into force before the end of 2025. After the amendment deadline closed (June 30), the text will enter the committee stage, then be debated, and finally voted on in the plenary session.
During the end of 2025, the text received more than 250 amendments and moved to the committee stage in the Tourism and Housing Commission. Parliamentary groups continue to negotiate modifications regarding the role of the island councils and the limit of housing per municipality. Despite the urgency expressed by the Canary Islands Government, no definitive approval date has been set yet.
Town councils will have the responsibility to decide which areas are suitable for implementing new tourist housing and which are not. It is expected that town councils will be able to manage supply and demand, as well as handle stressed tourist areas, ensuring sufficient residential housing supply.
One of the novelties this law brings is that a property can be designated as consolidated tourist use. This means the property will have exclusively tourist use and will never be used as a habitual residence. Declaring a property as tourist use will have a validity of 5 years and be renewable through a new responsible declaration. To declare a property as tourist use, owners must provide a series of requirements to prove that the property was legally enabled as vacation housing.
This new law provides stability to those owners who want to secure their property for receiving tourists in the medium to long term, allowing them to more easily plan fiscal and administrative management.
Depending on the municipality and the criteria each town council applies, a buildability limit will be imposed on housing designated for vacation rental. In some cases, only 10% of new constructions can be allocated to vacation housing. This percentage could decrease on certain islands that risk natural resources, such as El Hierro, La Gomera, and La Palma.
To dedicate a property to vacation rental in the Canary Islands, they must be at least 10 years old. But… what happens after those 10 years? The goal is that during those 10 years, you can adapt the property to the requirements of the legislation in force at that time.
If the bylaws of the homeowners’ association prohibit vacation rentals in any property in the community, a tourist property cannot be implemented, even if all requirements are met. Owners must review and adapt community agreements and bylaws if they intend to designate a property as tourist use in a community where vacation rentals are prohibited.
As expected, urbanizing with tourist intentions on protected land is completely prohibited due to the large amount of natural and landscape resources they contain.
The different island councils must prepare prior inspection plans for at least 5 years to ensure compliance with the new vacation housing law.
Every property designated for tourist rental in the Canary Islands must be registered in the single tourist rental registry and display a unique number in advertisements.
This requirement is added to the obligations established by Royal Decree 933/2021, which regulates the communication of traveler data to authorities, a process that can be automated through solutions like Check-in Scan.
Owners and organizations affected by the new vacation housing law in the Canary Islands reacted immediately upon learning of the first regulations. They consider that the law could seriously harm the local economy, negatively impacting small businesses and reducing overnight stays on the islands.
On the other hand, owners fear that many authorizations could be easily revoked or modified. This will create uncertainty and deter potential investors.
ASCAV (Canary Islands Vacation Rental Association) warns that “the new Law could devastate the Canary Islands economy” and has already filed appeals before the TSJC. It is estimated that around 25,000 properties located in non-hotel complexes could be left in legal limbo or forced to change use.
During 2025, the Canary Islands exceeded 14 million tourists, but vacation housing bookings showed a slight slowdown (–7.3%) due to legal uncertainty. Platforms like Airbnb and Booking implemented new filters to verify regional registration, reducing visible supply in stressed areas like South Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
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The new vacation rental law in the Canary Islands aims to balance tourist and residential use, but the lack of clear definitions generates uncertainty in the sector, making planning difficult for owners and investors. Additionally, by giving town councils the power to decide where vacation rentals are allowed, inequalities between municipalities could arise, affecting supply and causing housing prices to rise in certain areas.
The restrictions imposed by the regulations could also negatively impact the local economy, as reduced investment in vacation housing could harm small tourism-dependent businesses and reduce the number of overnight stays on the islands. Although the “consolidated tourist use” figure offers some stability to owners, the need for renewal every five years maintains uncertainty and could discourage new investments.
Another factor limiting the expansion of vacation rentals is the greater decision-making power given to homeowners’ associations, who will be able to prohibit this activity within their buildings, further reducing supply and potentially generating conflicts between neighbors with opposing interests. Likewise, the requirement that properties be at least ten years old before they can be rented stalls the modernization of the housing stock and discourages the construction of more sustainable accommodations adapted to new market demands.
Although final approval of the Law could be delayed until the end of 2026, vacation housing owners are recommended to start reviewing the legality of their activity, updating their registrations, and preparing documentation proving prior tourist use. Tools like Check-in Scan facilitate ongoing compliance with future administrative requirements and reduce the risk of penalties when the regulations come into force.
