Short-term rental lawyer in the Canary Islands
Case-by-case analysis of Law 6/2025 on the Sustainable Planning of Tourist Use of Housing, authorisation before the Cabildos, the transitional regime and sanction proceedings in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma and the rest of the archipelago.
Analyze my case without obligationHoliday homes in the Canary Islands
Since December 2025 the Canary Islands have had a rule with the status of law for the tourist use of housing: Law 6/2025 of 10 December on the Sustainable Planning of Tourist Use of Housing, published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands on 12 December 2025. The law does not ban holiday rentals, but it strengthens the role of island and municipal planning in deciding where they may operate and requires an authorisation to operate.
Several authorities are involved in practice: the Cabildos Insulares, before which the authorisation is processed, and the town councils, which determine the planning compatibility of tourist use. The law sets a transitional regime for dwellings already authorised, which may continue operating during a transition period, and subjects the activity to tighter control, including for digital platforms. For each property, the island, the municipality and the status of its authorisation should be checked.
Authorisation and registration
Review of the authorisation, the declaration or authorisation before the Cabildo Insular and the registration number that must appear in listings.
View information →Transitional regime
Analysis of the situation of dwellings authorised before Law 6/2025 and of the options offered by the transitional regime.
View information →Proceedings and sanctions
Defense against proceedings for operating without authorisation, advertising without a registration number, exceeding capacity or breaching technical conditions.
View information →Appeals
Administrative appeal against the sanction decision or the refusal of authorisation and, where appropriate, judicial defense.
View information →A stricter sanction regime
Law 6/2025 strengthens the Canary Islands’ tourism sanction regime and adds infringements specific to the tourist use of dwellings. Minor ones are usually linked to documentary breaches, such as not including the registration number in listings; serious ones to operating without valid authorisation or breaching technical conditions; and very serious ones to cases such as operating in unauthorised areas, with fines that can reach €300,000 and closure of the activity.
The same dwelling may be the subject of several proceedings if different infringements concur, and continuing tourist use after the authorisation has lapsed is expressly sanctionable. That is why the classification, the evidence and the competence of the sanctioning authority should be reviewed before responding.
How we work on your case
1. Review the documentation
We analyse notices, case files, registrations, listings and the evidence available.
2. Identify the legal issue
We determine which rules apply and which points may matter for the defense.
3. Define the course of action
We assess submissions, appeals or court action depending on the specific case.
4. Follow-up
We accompany the procedure and any subsequent steps through to its resolution.
Frequently asked questions
Law 6/2025 of 10 December on the Sustainable Planning of Tourist Use of Housing, which regulates the tourist use of dwellings across the archipelago and applies together with island and municipal planning.
The law provides a transitional regime for dwellings already authorised, which are not automatically cancelled. Their continuity depends on opting into the applicable transitional route and meeting the requirements, so each case should be reviewed.
Mainly before the Cabildo Insular of the island where the property is located, without prejudice to the town council determining the planning compatibility of tourist use under its urban plan.
Fines vary by seriousness (minor, serious or very serious) and can reach €300,000 in the gravest cases, plus possible closure. Advertising a property without the mandatory registration number is also sanctionable.
If the by-laws or valid association resolutions prohibit uses other than residential, the activity may be blocked. The three-fifths majority in the Horizontal Property Law also applies. Registered by-laws must be reviewed.
Yes. Viability depends on the case file, the evidence and the deadlines, so the notice should be reviewed as soon as possible to avoid losing avenues of defense.