New law on holiday rentals in the Canary Islands – what is fundamentally changing now

With its publication in the Boletín Oficial de Canarias No. 246 of 12 December 2025, a new law regulating the tourist use of residential property has entered into force in the Canary Islands. The aim of this new regulation is to bring order to the rapidly growing holiday rental market and to establish a balanced relationship between tourism, housing, and sustainable spatial development.

A fundamental change of course for holiday homes

With the new law on the tourist use of dwellings, the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is undertaking a clear change of course. The objective is to curb the uncontrolled spread of holiday rentals, ease pressure on the housing market, and prevent conflicts of use between permanent residential living and tourist accommodation. For the first time, it is clearly and explicitly established that the tourist rental of dwellings is not a form of housing, but rather an economic activity that may be spatially regulated and restricted. 

This legal clarification is central, as it forms the basis for far-reaching restrictions, new technical requirements, and a significantly stricter system of sanctions.

Tourist use is not residential use

The law draws a strict distinction between residential use and tourist use. Dwellings that are rented to guests on a short-term basis are no longer legally considered housing, but rather tourist accommodation establishments. As such, they are subject not only to tourism law, but also to targeted urban and spatial planning controls. 

Municipalities are granted the authority to decide whether, where, and to what extent holiday rentals are permitted at all. In doing so, they must take into account factors such as infrastructure, environmental impact, population development, rental prices, and the so-called “carrying capacity” of an area. In certain zones, tourist use may be completely prohibited.

Current figures on holiday rentals in the Canary Islands

The law also cites specific figures on the development of holiday rental accommodation in the Canary Islands. Between November 2022 and November 2023, the number of officially registered holiday homes increased by 25,7%, from 38.603 to 48.541 units across the archipelago. This growth continued throughout 2024. 

As of 17 July 2024, the registered holiday homes and available beds are distributed as follows:

These figures illustrate the dynamic development of the holiday rental market in the Canary Islands and show why the law provides for both regulatory and statistical instruments to enable sustainable management of holiday rental activity.

In absolute terms, explicit attention must be drawn to the drastic decline in housing construction in the Canary Islands since the 2008 financial crisis. In 2022, only 2.782 dwellings were built, compared with 3.011 dwellings in 2021, 1.341 in 2020, 3.103 in 2019, and 2.192 in 2018. It should also be noted that not a single social housing unit was built in the Canary Islands in 2020 and 2021, nor in 2018, and that only 60 protected dwellings were constructed in 2019 and 208 in 2022.

The above data show that, in order to restore permanent residential use to the current 60.146 dwellings that have been allocated to tourist use, and assuming an average annual construction rate of 3.000 dwellings, it would take twenty years to recover this housing stock - quite apart from the additional number of dwellings required to accommodate annual population growth.

New technical and qualitative requirements

The law introduces detailed minimum requirements for dwellings intended for tourist use. As a general rule, such dwellings must have a minimum living area of 35 square metres. Where occupancy is higher, there is also an obligation to provide additional bathrooms. Deviations from the minimum floor area are permitted only if the dwelling offers special qualitative features, such as a private parking space, a swimming pool, sports or wellness facilities, generous outdoor areas, or specific environmental and energy certifications.

In addition, the law significantly tightens energy requirements. Holiday rentals must meet certain energy efficiency classes, use renewable energy for hot water supply, and in future also comply with the stricter provisions of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. Further obligations include noise and occupancy monitoring, compliance with accessibility requirements, and ensuring direct, real access to the dwelling.

Particularly explicit is the prohibition of the tourist use of so-called “infraviviendas”. This term includes, for example, containers, makeshift structures, self-built huts or other spaces that are structurally unsuitable. These may no longer be used or advertised for tourist purposes.

Full technical and qualitative requirements for holiday rentals

(in accordance with the article “Seventh. Technical requirements of the dwelling for tourist use”)

1. Minimum size and sanitary facilities

General rule:
The dwelling must have at least 35 m² of usable floor area.
With more than 4 beds, at least 2 fully equipped bathrooms are required.
With more than 8 beds, at least 3 fully equipped bathrooms are required.

Exceptions to the minimum size

A smaller dwelling may nevertheless be authorised if it meets the minimum residential floor areas applicable under housing law and fulfils at least one of the following additional conditions: 
Private parking space for guests on the same property
Private or communal swimming pool on the same property
Sports facilities (e.g. gym, tennis, padel, riding, or similar) on the same property
Health, wellness or beauty facilities (e.g. spa, thalassotherapy, physiotherapy)
Private outdoor areas for guests:
in urban areas: at least 9 m² of plot area per guest bed
in rural areas: at least 100 m² of plot area per guest bed
Certified charging station for zero-emission vehicles
Quality or environmental certification, in particular:
Spanish Tourism Quality System
EMAS (EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)
Energy transition / decarbonisation plan with the objective of being:
climate-neutral or climate-positive within 5 years
Energy efficiency class A or B
Noise and occupancy monitoring system with immediate intervention capability
Additional municipal requirements for reasons of:
protection of public health
social policy
labour and environmental protection
preservation of cultural heritage
or other compelling public interests
Proof of self-employment: The operator must be self-employed and directly connected to the rental activity.

2. Technical minimum requirements for equipment

a) Air conditioning

Cooling devices (air-conditioning systems) must have at least energy efficiency class A.

Exceptions are permitted only in cases of: 
technical impossibility
environmental protection considerations
economic disproportionality
→ in each case duly justified in the urban planning instrument.

b) Energy efficiency of buildings

Buildings constructed up to 31 December 2007: at least energy class F 
Buildings constructed after 31 December 2007: at least energy class D

Exceptions: 
Buildings that are legally exempt from energy certification
Listed buildings or those subject to similar heritage protection restrictions
→ in such cases, the highest energy efficiency class legally attainable must be achieved.

Additionally applicable: With every new registration, compliance with EU Directive 2023/1791 on energy efficiency is mandatory (dynamic tightening of requirements).

c) Hot water supply (DHW)

Hot water must be generated primarily by solar thermal energy, where technically feasible.

Alternatively permitted are: 
other renewable energy sources, provided that:
CO₂ emissions and
primary energy consumption
are at least equal to or better than those of solar thermal systems.

Minimum share of renewable energy: 
Buildings constructed before 31 December 2007: at least 70%
Buildings constructed after 31 December 2007: at least 90%
Exception: listed buildings or cases of legal or technical impossibility.

d) Accessibility / access

The dwelling must have direct, passable access by vehicle. If the access road is not asphalted, this must be: explicitly stated in advertising and marketing materials.

e) Accessibility for persons with disabilities

The accessibility regulations in force at the time of registration apply. The decisive factor is the state of legislation at the moment the declaration is submitted.

3. Overarching objectives

All requirements are set within the context of the following statutory objectives: 
Building safety and habitability
Protection of public health
Fire safety
Energy efficiency and energy saving
Noise protection
Sustainable construction
Environmental protection
Climate neutrality
Accessibility
Sustainable mobility
Environmental awareness

Strong role of municipalities and island councils

Municipalities are obliged to adapt their development and land-use plans to the new law. If they fail to do so within five years, the respective island councils (Cabildos) will assume this task on a substitute basis. This mechanism is intended to prevent inaction by individual municipalities from undermining the effectiveness of the law. 

In addition, municipalities may set clear upper limits on tourist beds in residential buildings and link them to the actual carrying capacity of a neighbourhood or locality.

Conversion of tourist buildings into residential use

Another key component of the law concerns existing tourist complexes that have in practice become largely “residentialised”, meaning that they are predominantly occupied on a permanent basis. Owners of such buildings may apply, within a three-year period, to convert the use entirely to residential purposes. 

Once such a change of use has been approved and formally established in planning terms, a future return to tourist use is permanently excluded. In this way, the law aims to secure permanent housing stock and prevent speculative changes of use.

Transitional arrangement for El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma

For the three smaller and structurally distinct islands of El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma, the law contains an explicitly regulated transitional phase. During the first two years after the law enters into force, a specific restriction will not yet apply.

Specifically, this concerns the provision of Article 7, paragraph 7, letter c, which allows planning instruments to limit or exclude the tourist use of dwellings solely on the basis of capacity and impact thresholds. This provision is temporarily suspended on the aforementioned islands.

In doing so, the legislator takes account of the particular circumstances of these islands: lower population density, less strained housing markets, and a stronger economic dependence on small-scale tourism. It is important to note, however, that this is not a general exemption from the law, but merely a time-limited non-application of a single regulatory instrument. All other technical, registration-related and sanction-related requirements also apply there.

Significantly tightened sanctions

The law considerably expands the catalogue of serious administrative offences. Advertising a holiday rental without a registration number already constitutes an offence. Particularly serious is the tourist use without authorisation or after the withdrawal of a permit. Such violations may be punished with fines ranging from 15.000 to 150.000 euros. 

False statements, incomplete declarations, or ignoring official requests are also explicitly subject to sanctions.

Conclusion

This law marks a turning point for holiday rentals in the Canary Islands. Tourist letting is clearly classified as a commercial activity, subject to spatial control and significantly enhanced quality standards. For property owners, this means more obligations, higher requirements and less flexibility - while for the housing market and municipalities it provides an instrument for stabilisation and long-term management. 

Anyone who operates holiday rentals or plans to do so should familiarise themselves with the new requirements at an early stage. In many cases, the decisive question in the future will no longer be how to rent, but whether renting is still permitted at a particular location at all. 

Anyone wishing to consult the full legal text can find it on the official website of the Gobierno de Canarias.