On May 28, 2015 Decree 113/2015 regulating Holiday Rentals was published in the Canary Islands Official Bulletin. This Decree has become on its own merits, one of the most controversial and restrictive in Spain, endangering more than 1,300,000 tourists who choose Holiday Rentals as a form of accommodation, as well as negatively affecting the related economy of many Canarian municipalities.

Even today, our visitors as well as property owners and intermediaries, witness "dumbfounded" at the lack of legal certainty and limited "ability to listen and respond" with a regulation of the utmost necessity in a region that garners elevated levels of unemployment.
Among other things, Article 3.2 of this infamous Decree excludes more than 50% of these properties in our territory, especially those located in touristic areas. Add to that, the additional limitations imposed by the island and municipal administrations. This has created a regulatory failure that affects more than 90% of the Holiday Rentals in the Canary Islands.   

It is an obvious blow that gives free rein to hoteliers to stake claim almost entirely to all of the tourism that we receive in the islands, is the implementation of a complete ban on much of the sector that it aims to regulate and is a step that shatters the economy of thousands of families and small businesses in Canary linked to this activity: bars, restaurants, shops, entertainment companies, car rental, hardware stores, laundries ... ultimately our local business environment.

Those homes that do not meet the requirements and are not included in the required territorial planning CANNOT be rented for touristic purposes in the Canary Islands, regardless of the duration, according to our Regional Government. Fines for this action range from 30,001 to 300,000 Euros.

Renting of a property through a P2P portal or through an intermediary or licensed tourist tour operator does not exempt the owner from being fined.

Renting of rooms (Bed & Breakfast) within a home or even in a separate housing unit but within the same property, it is also prohibited.
Use of a standard rental contract such as dictated by the LAU (State Urban Lease Act) for the same purpose, does not save anyone from being fined, since the Regional Government is deemed to have the authority in relation to tourism and therefore sufficient capacity to impose compliance of the regulation in force.

The best way to know if your home is in or out of this regulation, is to inform yourself at your Town Hall or request a Viability Report, although less reliable (Informe de Viabilidad) from the Cabildo before formally presenting the official communication of the start of activity and responsible declaration (Comunicación del Inicio de Actividad y Declaración Responsable) in your Cabildo.