Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 17 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The Governing Council of the Canary Islands has sanctioned, on Monday, a decree-law concerning urgent measures related to the obligation to comply with tourist usage, a measure aimed at addressing the issue of residential applications in tourist areas, in accordance with Law 2/2013, dated 29 May, concerning the renewal and tourism modernisation of the Canary Islands.
“With the modifications enacted,” stated the Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de León, “the processing of sanctioning procedures that lack a definitive resolution, as well as those reviews that do not conclude the administrative route, will be paused for a maximum of three years from the enactment of the decree-law.”
She further noted, “the interested party is required to request the change of use from the City Council, which must then be communicated to the Ministry.”
Consequently, the aim is to “provide this additional three-year period for municipalities to undertake the necessary specialisation of uses in tourist zones, a fundamental principle established in our autonomous, tourism, territorial and urban legislation of the Canary Islands,” the councillor remarked.
She specifically pointed out that “non-compliance with this legal obligation has led to the initiation of numerous sanctioning files.”
Thus, “within three years, local authorities will need to specialise the uses, allowing those affected by this situation to attain greater peace of mind and assurance in legal matters, necessitating them to approach local administrations to urge this specialisation of uses, aligning with the draft law on the sustainable management of tourist home usage,” De León explained.
Additionally, another aim of the initiative is to categorically annul the replacement of owners who do not adhere to tourist use, as this directly contravenes the principle of exploitation units, considering it an inefficient mechanism due to its procedural and disproportionate complexity.
In this way, the Administration will continue to adhere to the law while providing greater legal certainty for citizens.
The councillor defended the roadmap outlined by her department aimed at resolving the regulatory “chaos” within the tourism sector, indicating that many families have been unjustly impacted, thereby necessitating a search for “consensus” and a thorough examination of the various cases.
She also reminded attendees how the Vacation Rental Law is already undergoing parliamentary procedures, the future Tourism Law of the Canary Islands is being prepared, modifications to the Autonomous Regulations for Active Tourism are forthcoming, and camping and other unique establishments will be regulated for the first time on the islands.
