The future of thousands of holiday rental properties across the Canary Islands is hanging in the balance due to a controversial new national regulation. Spain’s central government has introduced a mandatory state register for all holiday rental homes, and failure to register could see listings removed from major online booking platforms.
The Canary Islands Vacation Rental Association (ASCAV) warns that up to 90% of the archipelago’s holiday rentals are at risk, as many owners have been unable to complete the registration process due to what they describe as “bureaucratic obstacles.”
ASCAV estimates that if these properties are forced offline, the Canary Islands economy could lose as much as €1.3 billion in annual revenue.
Legal battle over jurisdiction
ASCAV has challenged the new decree in court, arguing that it infringes on the regional governments’ authority to regulate holiday rentals, an issue that has also sparked legal challenges in other regions of Spain including Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Murcia, Galicia and Andalusia.
Javier Martín, ASCAV’s managing director, said that the situation has created huge uncertainty among property owners. “This new requirement is completely illegal,” he said. “The criteria being applied by the registrars are arbitrary. They’re even making urban planning decisions, which they have no authority to do.”
Martín highlights that these inconsistencies in the registration process have left many owners confused and worried about the future of their businesses. The concern is that if owners cannot register by the deadline, listings will start to disappear from online platforms from July 1st.
Thousands of legal challenges likely
If properties are delisted, owners may be forced to file thousands of individual legal appeals to defend their right to operate, Martín explains. “We expect owners will exercise their legal rights and challenge any penalties imposed,” he added.
ASCAV has raised its concerns both with national authorities and in Brussels, calling for a unified system based on existing regional registers instead of duplicating paperwork and complicating the process.
Currently, each autonomous region, including the Canary Islands, already maintains its own register of holiday rentals, which ASCAV argues should be the sole reference point. “It’s the regional governments that hold the legal competence for regulating tourist accommodation, not the central government,” Martín said.
A growing sense of legal uncertainty
The new regulation makes registration compulsory, replacing the previous voluntary system. However, with the Supreme Court yet to rule on the legality of the national register, holiday rental property owners are left in legal limbo.
“What’s going to happen if the national register comes into force before the court makes a decision? Owners are already seeing some platforms demand compliance, and if they are forced offline, the financial losses will be huge,” Martín warned.
ASCAV president Doris Borrego agrees, insisting that a better approach would have been to integrate regional registers into a unified system, avoiding unnecessary duplication and respecting EU regulations.
With the July 1st deadline fast approaching, many property owners remain anxious as they wait for clarity and fear the severe financial consequences that could follow if no solution is found in time.
