If you have a holiday home in the Canary Islands, or you are thinking about putting one on the tourist rental market, there is something you need to know: since December 2025 the regulations have changed.
Law 6/2025 on the Sustainable Organisation of Tourist Use of Housing came into force on 13 December 2025 and has brought important changes to holiday rental regulations across the islands.
We have prepared this guide so you can understand, clearly and simply, what has changed, how it affects you and what steps to take to continue letting legally.
Bear in mind, however, that this law delegates many decisions to local councils, so there will be differences between municipalities. Treat what you read here as a general framework, which we hope you find useful, but always check your specific case.
With that said, let us get to the important part.
What is Law 6/2025 and why does it affect you?
Law 6/2025 is a regulation passed by the Parliament of the Canary Islands on 10 December 2025 and published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands on 12 December.
Its full name says it all: Law on the Sustainable Organisation of Tourist Use of Housing. What does that mean? It does not ban holiday letting, but it regulates it much more strictly than before.
What existed before?
Until now, holiday homes in the Canary Islands were regulated by Decree 113/2015. It was a relatively simple system:
- You submitted a responsible declaration to the island council
- You met basic equipment requirements
- And you could start letting.
The new holiday rental law, however, changes the approach completely.
Now, the fact that your property is on residential land does not automatically mean you can use it for tourism. Your municipality’s urban planning must expressly allow it.
That is the big change.
Note these dates to understand how the system works from now on:
- 13 December 2025: the law enters into force
- Five years from that date: period for owners with a previous responsible declaration to decide whether to consolidate their right or adapt to the new regime
- 20 May 2026: European Regulation 2024/1028 starts to apply, affecting short-term rental platforms and registers
The big change: urban planning now determines whether you can let
Before Law 6/2025, if you had a property in a residential area and met the requirements, you could let it as a holiday home. Now, as we have just explained, that is no longer enough.
Your local council must have expressly enabled tourist use in its planning. Without that authorisation, you cannot let.
The law also states that municipalities must reserve at least 90% of residential land for exclusively residential use, or 80% in El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma.
And if your council has not yet updated its planning?
Maximum caps then apply:
- No more than 10% of homes can be used for tourism.
- With exceptions of 20% for municipalities facing demographic challenges or for smaller islands.
This also means the law does not apply uniformly across the archipelago. Municipalities can approve temporary ordinances to regulate tourist use within those margins, but if they do not, the general limits apply.
So before making any investment or starting any procedure, the first step is to ask your council whether tourist use is enabled in your area. Treat this as step zero.
How to register your property: the responsible declaration
If urban planning allows it, the next step is to submit a responsible declaration to the corresponding island council. This is not new, but the requirements have become much stricter.
What documentation do you need?
The declaration must include, among other details:
- The property’s cadastral reference, capacity and registered property details
- Identity of the owner and operator, if they are different people
- Declaration of urban planning compatibility
- Authorisation for data exchange with the tax authority and security forces
- A certificate from the owners’ community, where applicable
- A declaration that the property is not protected housing and is not part of a tourist establishment
You must also attach a technical report with plans, photographs, geolocation through SITCAN and a compliance narrative. You will also need the urban planning certificate confirming that municipal planning allows the use.
One important detail: if essential data in the declaration is inaccurate or false, the administration can cancel the registration and prevent you from applying again for up to three years. We therefore recommend preparing the file carefully.
The owners’ community: be careful with this point
If your property is in a building with an owners’ community, pay close attention. The administrative procedure, updated in February 2026, asks for the community’s express approval. It is no longer enough for the statutes simply not to prohibit it.
This is one of the points that creates the most problems, so it is worth addressing it early and with legal advice. Getting this approval can take months, depending on how your community works.
Technical requirements for the property
Let us now look at what your property must meet from a technical point of view, because the law sets transitional requirements until implementing regulations are approved. These include:
- Minimum usable floor area of 35 m2, with exceptions if the property meets additional conditions such as parking, a swimming pool, quality certifications or an electric vehicle charging point
- Bathrooms: at least two full bathrooms if the property has more than four places, and three if it has more than eight
- Energy efficiency: minimum ratings are required depending on the year of construction, along with a percentage of renewable energy for hot water, between 70% and 90% depending on the age of the property
- Noise and occupancy monitoring: included as an especially sensitive condition in buildings shared with residents
- Accessibility and vehicle access: the property must meet applicable accessibility conditions and, if access is not paved, this must be stated in the offer
If your property does not meet any of these points, run the numbers before investing in works, because adapting many properties may simply not be worthwhile.
Your licence now has an expiry date
Another important change is that the responsible declaration is no longer indefinite. It is valid for five years, extendable to ten in El Hierro, La Gomera, La Palma or municipalities facing demographic challenges.
So you will need to renew it periodically.
To do so, you will have to submit a new declaration during the month before expiry, accompanied by a favourable municipal certificate confirming compliance with current ordinances and planning.
And what happens if you do not renew it on time? The property is definitively removed from the register and its use becomes exclusively residential again.
So be careful. This is not a procedure to leave until the last minute.
What if you already had a responsible declaration before the law?
If you were already operating legally before 13 December 2025, you have several options.
It is worth analysing them carefully, because each one has different implications.
Option 1: consolidation, with no time limit
If you are the owner and holder of the previous responsible declaration, you can opt for a consolidated tourist-use regime with no time limit.
The advantage is clear: the five-year limit does not affect you.
But it also has an important condition: while the use is consolidated, you cannot use the property as a residence under any circumstances. If you do, you lose the consolidation.
And watch the deadlines, because you have five years from the law’s entry into force to choose this option.
Option 2: continue for five years with the old declaration
If you do not want to or cannot consolidate, you can continue operating for five years with your current declaration. After that period, the declaration expires automatically and you must adapt to the new regime.
If you are the operator but not the owner, bear in mind that the right ends earlier if your operating contract finishes before those five years, although there is also the possibility of requesting an extension to ten years under strict conditions.
Option 3: incentives linked to long-term rental
The law includes an incentive mechanism that can extend the effects for up to 20 years in exchange for allocating other homes to long-term rental under certain conditions, including price limits linked to public benchmarks.
In any case, although the intention may be good, this is a complex option that involves submitting many documents, so you will need specialist advice.
Sanctions: what you risk if you do not comply
The law is clear: there will be more inspections and sanctions will become tougher.
For example:
- Continuing to operate without authorisation will be considered a serious infringement, with fines from EUR 15,000 to EUR 150,000.
- Advertising the property without a registration number is also classified as an infringement.
Situations such as exceeding 150% of authorised capacity or accommodating guests in what is considered substandard housing can also lead to immediate cessation of activity.
There is also a detail that is often overlooked: the registration number must appear on every platform and channel where you advertise the property, because publishing an advert without that number is, in itself, grounds for sanction.
What about the rest of Spain?
Although this guide focuses on the Canary Islands holiday rental law, it is worth looking at what is happening in other regions so you have a broader view.
Holiday rental regulations in the Balearic Islands
In the Balearic Islands, the regulations have focused on controlling illegal supply (Decree-law 4/2025) and preventing parties in tourist homes (Law 1/2025).
The debate there revolves more around quotas, moratoriums and coexistence than urban planning, unlike what has happened in the Canary Islands.
Holiday rental regulations in the Valencian Community
In the Valencian Community, Decree-law 9/2024 coincides with the Canary Islands on several points:
- Registrations valid for five years
- Mandatory cadastral reference
- And municipal urban planning compatibility.
It also prohibits room-by-room rental and excludes stays of more than 11 consecutive days.
The national register and European regulation
At national level, Royal Decree 1312/2024 created a Unique Rental Register and a Digital Single Window. This means you may need two registration numbers rather than just one: the regional number and the national number.
From 20 May 2026, platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com will also have to verify this data more strictly under European Regulation 2024/1028.
Returning to the Canary Islands, and being practical, this is where you should start
If you have a holiday home in the Canary Islands or are thinking about starting to let under this regime, these are the steps to take:
- Check your municipality’s urban planning to confirm that tourist use is enabled
- Review whether your property meets the technical requirements for floor area, bathrooms and energy efficiency
- If you already have a responsible declaration, assess whether consolidation is worthwhile before the deadline ends
- If you do not yet have one, prepare the documentation: technical report, urban planning certificate and, where applicable, community approval
- Make sure your registration number appears in every advert
- Note the renewal dates and do not leave them until the last minute
Feeling overwhelmed by the legislation and deadlines? We can help
Home2Book is a holiday rental company that manages more than 600 properties in Spain. We know these regulatory changes first hand and make sure your properties comply with the rules.
If you are concerned about how Law 6/2025 affects you, or you simply want to delegate management so you do not have to deal with all of this, contact us through this form and we will be happy to advise you.Home2Book is a holiday rental company that manages more than 600 properties in Spain. We know these regulatory changes first hand and make sure your properties comply with the rules.If you are concerned about how Law 6/2025 affects you, or you simply want to delegate management so you do not have to deal with all of this, contact us through this form and we will be happy to advise you.
