The text of the new regulation, which seeks to regulate housing for vacation use, will be available on the Transparency portal until May 2
Complementary informative meetings are also planned with the FECAM, the island councils and the most representative business and trade union organizations
The Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de León, announced this Monday that next Wednesday, April 3, the mandatory joint procedure of hearing and public information of the preliminary draft Law on Sustainable Planning of Tourist Use of Housing will begin, one of the main political commitments for this legislature.
De León stressed in the press conference after the Governing Council that "this is a law that has a marked cross-cutting nature, as it addresses not only tourism competences, but also housing, urban planning, environment, protection of the territory and consumers, so it is a regulation that involves the entire Government of the Canary Islands, although it has been led by the Ministry of Tourism and Employment."
The Minister explained that the purpose of the Autonomous Executive is to guarantee the greatest participation of citizens "for what will be the first law of the autonomous community on this matter", a text that will update the current regulations dating from 2015.
In addition, the head of the Tourism and Employment area indicated that "in just eight months we have developed a law that responds to a phenomenon that already exceeds 37% of the accommodation offer that currently exists in the Canary Islands." According to official figures, as of April 1, 2024, there are 54,227 vacation homes in the archipelago.
One of the keys to the new regulations is that housing for tourist or vacation use is only admissible and compatible with residential and housing use if expressly permitted by urban planning establishing its detailed planning.
De León emphasized the importance of restoring the balance between tourist activity and the resident "especially in relation to the urban, territorial and environmental models established for each of the islands, taking into account that the priority is the well-being of the citizens of the Canary Islands, because only by guaranteeing their quality of life can we work adequately to ensure the happiness of the tourists who visit us."
As she announced, from Wednesday, April 3, and for twenty business days, until May 2, the legal text will be submitted to a hearing and public information to receive all the contributions that can enrich it. Thus, after the sectoral meetings held in recent weeks within the round of consultations that were initiated to learn the opinion of different professional sectors and public institutions, the text of the preliminary draft will be available to citizens on the web Transparency portal.
In addition, complementary informative meetings are planned with the Canarian Federation of Municipalities (FECAM), the most representative business and trade union organizations and with the island councils.
Subsequently, once the contributions received have been analyzed, the Ministry of Tourism and Employment will request the mandatory reports and subsequently the final text will be submitted to the Governing Council for approval. From there, the bill will reach the Parliament of the Canary Islands for debate and voting.