The Government of the Canary Islands today presented to the Commission of Island Councils of the Parliament of the Canary Islands the draft update of Law 4/2017 on Land and Protected Natural Areas, a reform that seeks to adapt the regulations to the new needs of the Archipelago, streamline the development of planning instruments and strengthen the protection of the territory.
During his speech, the Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water, Manuel Miranda, thanked the island councils and their technical teams for the work carried out throughout the analysis and development process of the proposal, as well as their participation in the previous debate forums.
The 2017 Land Law represented a substantial change in the way of planning and protecting the territory of the Canary Islands, based on three fundamental principles: simplification, rationalization, and legal certainty. Since it came into force, it has allowed the promotion of 250 modifications to municipal planning and more than thirty modifications to island planning instruments.
“Nine years after its approval, the Government considers it necessary to update it to incorporate the regulatory changes that have occurred since then, especially in terms of climate change and housing, and to respond to new objectives related to access to housing, the demographic challenge, territorial cohesion, and urban renewal,” said Miranda.
A reform preceded by a broad participation process
The update is the result of an analysis and participation process initiated in November 2023, on the occasion of the ACADUR congress, which lasted until 2025. During this period, 17 forums were held, two of them specifically dedicated to the island councils, with the participation of more than 700 professionals and experts.
Among the participants were nearly 300 public employees from town councils and 40 technicians from island corporations. In February 2025, the proposal was presented to the Canary Federation of Islands (FECAI).
The text maintains the structure and fundamental parts of the current law to facilitate its integration and preserve legal certainty. The update retains the essential elements relating to land tenure, planning instruments, the execution of planning, and administrative powers to guarantee urban legality.
Contain expansion and prioritize the existing city
One of the main objectives of the reform is to move towards a containment urban planning model, which prioritizes the transformation and renovation of already urbanized spaces over expansion onto new land.
To this end, the project contemplates raising the percentage of development subject to mandatory transfer from 10% to 15% in developable land and requiring the declassification of an equivalent area of land when new developable land is classified.
Likewise, it aims to promote reform and renovation actions for urbanization intended for the construction of protected housing and to establish a less burdensome treatment for urban land than for developable land, favoring interventions on the consolidated city.
The proposal also reaffirms that in environmental lands, uses and activities compatible with the values to be protected may be developed.
More agile plans and simpler procedures
The reform seeks to reduce the time and procedures required to prepare and approve planning instruments, by reducing the deadlines for issuing reports, conducting consultations, and developing public information periods, as well as simplifying the required documentation and eliminating dispensable procedures.
In the area of cooperation between administrations, the project halves the deadlines for issuing reports in cases of actions of territorial relevance.
It also proposes to streamline the processing of licenses and provide greater legal certainty, by specifying that the cases of negative administrative silence will be those determined by basic state legislation.
The update also incorporates measures to strengthen urban planning discipline, extending the Administration's action periods to prevent the statute of limitations for infractions and increasing the minimum amount of sanctions.
An update that continues previously approved measures
The Government has recalled that this reform is in addition to various regulatory initiatives adopted during the legislature to facilitate urban planning management and respond to specific needs.
Among them are Decree 1/2024, to promote the rehabilitation of unfinished housing; Decree 5/2024, aimed at facilitating the development of renewable energies; the measures included in the 2025 Budgets for municipalities affected by the demographic challenge; Decree 3/2025, to accelerate licenses and housing construction; Decree 6/2025, to prevent the expiration of planning instruments, and Decree 1/2026, on provisional uses and consolidated buildings.
The Executive maintains that the update allows for a deeper exploration of the principles of simplification and legal certainty without undermining legal guarantees and, at the same time, reinforcing territorial protection.
Therefore, Miranda has requested the support of the island councils for the proposal and has reiterated her gratitude for the collaboration of the island corporations and their technical teams during the analysis and debate process.
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