Santa Cruz de Tenerife 11 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The Canarian Federation of Municipalities (FECAM) convened an Executive Committee on Wednesday to endorse a series of amendments to the Vacation Rental Law currently under consideration in Parliament, voicing “concern” regarding the potential absence of legal certainty for property owners.
In a statement, they called for regulations that are “clear and precise”, akin to those governing classified activities, while advocating for “administrative simplification” and promoting “collaboration between administrations” within a “co-governance” framework.
Consequently, concerning the initial transitional provision and the consolidation of holiday homes, it is suggested that municipalities verify whether the responsible declaration is valid prior to consolidating use, preferably using digital tools. This aims to streamline processes, prevent duplication, and ensure that all holiday homes are regulated before consolidation.
In this context, a second additional provision has been included, mandating municipalities to develop plans to verify responsible declarations and prior communications, ensuring all submitted documentation and inspections of the properties are undertaken.
Furthermore, the initiative notes that the authorisation for holiday housing should be revoked when the property is transferred, although FECAM proposes allowing such transfers in the cases of death or gift.
On the topic of the new transitional provision, municipalities have expressed their willingness to collaborate on verification processes ensuring compliance with regulations and have agreed to implement a plan for inspecting and controlling existing holiday homes within a four-year period, which represents an “important undertaking” for local authorities, given it will involve reviewing tens of thousands of holiday properties.
More than 20% in the green islands
Therefore, FECAM proposes the preparation of a regulation within six months mandating the application of the classified activities regulations for holiday housing, during which time the assessment of submitted requests to the municipalities will be paused.
Additionally, FECAM advocates for the modification of article 4 of the law, stating that municipalities should have the autonomy to establish limits based on their individual circumstances, similar to regulations governing industrial or commercial land.
For example, it is proposed that in municipalities affected by depopulation and reduced economic activity, holiday housing should act as an “incentive”, suggesting that in the ‘green islands’, a ceiling could be set beyond 20% or banned outright within tourist zones that possess partial plans with both tourist and residential plots and an adequate supply of holiday homes.
The final aspect concerns the amendment of the operating unit regime, where FECAM proposes the issuance of a transitional regulation to govern the status of these apartments, as they remain registered until the new Tourism Law regulation is approved, which the Ministry has already begun work on.
