The president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Davila, has disclosed that island authorities, excluding those from the so-called “green islands” (La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro), have approached the Government of the Canary Islands requesting a moratorium on the issuance of licenses for holiday homes.
This comes in light of the “avalanche” of applications that followed the declaration of the new law intended to regulate holiday housing, which has resulted in “over 5,000” applications in the case of Tenerife, Dávila elaborated in a recent interview with RNE in the Canary Islands.
Dávila clarified that this request for a “moratorium” on holiday homes was submitted to the regional authorities by the councils of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Tenerife through the Canary Islands Federation (Fecai).
He contended that “the time has come” to initiate this review, which cannot be achieved “instantly”, as “tourism figures are incredibly substantial, with record arrivals and turnover being continually outdone”.
“The concern,” he added, “is whether this success will be detrimental to us: due to record figures, locals are unable to access rental housing”, and protected areas are “overwhelmed”.
Regarding the “moratorium” sought by the councils, the Canary Islands Association of Holiday Rentals (Ascav) has refuted the notion that this sector is “the primary reason” for the “serious issue” surrounding the availability of rental housing for residents.
In a statement, Ascav’s president, Doris Borrego, expressed her disbelief that the Department of Tourism is responsible for “a ripple effect and an influx of holiday home registrations” following its announcement last October concerning a new law, asserting that “many” of these properties “are not publicly listed” and “were merely registered as a precaution”.
She referred to the fact that a significant portion of the new registrations relates to “major holders of entire residential developments under construction, others in the planning stages, or tourist resorts that are partially or entirely registered ‘just in case’ or because they engage in” this activity.
Consequently, she recalled that Ascav proposed months ago to the Department of Tourism “a one-year moratorium to halt and facilitate a consensus among all parties on a regulation that reflects the genuine model” of holiday homes, “one that allows Canarian families to play an active role”.
Ascav maintains that the principal reason for the limited availability of residential rentals is a national Housing Law that, “without safeguarding owners, has eliminated 40% of rental housing due to insufficient legal protection: 20% have converted to holiday homes, while the remainder has either been sold or turned off,” they estimate.
They also highlight a “deficiency in housing availability for the increasing demand from workers”, particularly in tourist areas.
