Canary Islands intends to "return" empty and vacation homes to conventional rentals

The Minister of Housing, Pablo Rodríguez, highlights that next year there will be 1,000 public homes under construction

November 27 2023 (13:46 WET)
Updated in November 27 2023 (13:55 WET)
Vacation rental in Arrecife
Vacation rental in Arrecife

The Canary Islands Government will incentivize owners of empty houses and those dedicated to vacation rentals to return them to the conventional rental market, for which it will regulate that not all areas or properties can be marketed as vacation rentals, a business that it sees as "legitimate and complementary" to tourism.

This was announced by the regional Minister of Public Works, Housing and Mobility, Pablo Rodríguez (CC), before offering the conference "Leading Investment in the Canary Islands", organized by 'La Provincia' and 'El Día', in which he outlined the legislative objectives of this department of the Canary Islands Executive, set according to "what is possible to carry out".

Asked about the impact that vacation rentals have on prices and housing availability, Rodríguez admitted that this is one of the most serious problems in the archipelago, so its resolution "is one of the pillars" set by the Government supported by CC, PP, ASG and AHI, for which it will execute, in its last two years, the Canary Islands Housing Plan 2020-2025, with 1,472 million that will allow 1,000 homes to be under construction in 2024.

 

Public-private collaborations

The Executive will reinforce its action in this area with concessions of surface rights that will facilitate public-private collaboration to increase the availability of housing for rent, social and affordable in the archipelago, since the emergency is such that the Administration, by itself, is not capable of providing the necessary response.

To the same end, the Canary Islands Government will sign agreements with city councils and island councils to manage their land and build more homes on them for rental.

Rodríguez defended the need to make a "courageous policy" to ensure that a good part of the homes that are currently used for vacation rentals, in addition to those that are empty, return to the conventional rental market, the long-term one.

"Not everything that is in vacation rentals should be in vacation rentals. There are areas where it doesn't make much sense" to be used for this purpose "and properties that do not meet the conditions" for it, so "it would be desirable for those homes to return to long-term rentals", he said.

The Minister also highlighted the willingness shown by the Canary Islands Administration to "buy", from those who complete them, the numerous unfinished buildings in the archipelago, in order to allocate them to rental.

 

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