The Government Council of the Canary Islands has shelved the decree law by which the sanctions imposed on people for residing in tourist apartments were going to be suspended.
The spokesperson for the Canary Islands Executive, Alfonso Cabello, has reported in a press conference after the meeting of the Government Council that the reason for this postponement is that "some nuances" are pending by the legal services of the Autonomous Community.
The Government of the Canary Islands began to issue the first sanctions in 2023 against the owners of apartments in tourist complexes who do not want to rent them out, but rather use them as their home or second residence.
Sanctions whose amount ranges between 2,000 and 9,000 euros for "very serious" infractions of the Canary Islands legislation, which since 2013 obliges to dedicate these properties to the tourist use established by the planning, no matter how much the affected party invokes their right to property to try to give it a residential use.
Only those who demonstrate that they have been using their apartment for residential purposes since before 2017 are free from this obligation, an exception that was introduced thinking about the problem that occurred in islands such as Gran Canaria, where the ownership of these vacation complexes has been very atomized for decades and there are many owners who do not exploit their apartment, but use it as a first or second residence, even registering as residents.
