All groups in the Parliament of the Canary Islands agreed this Tuesday with the Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jessica de León, on the need to undertake a regulatory law for vacation rentals and expressed the importance of reconciling all interests and listening to all parties involved.
The right to housing, sustainability, urban planning, quality of life, employment, consumer protection or tourism are aspects that will have to be reconciled in this regulation, De León stated in an appearance before the plenary session of Parliament, in which she expressed that the current regulations are "scattered and obsolete".
The Minister announced that consultations will begin this Thursday in a first meeting with employers, unions, island councils and town councils, a preliminary step to involve all sectors and incorporate all sectors involved, universities, parliamentary groups and ministries into the consultations.
"Our sustainability, the right to housing, the protection of the environment, the quality of life and employment are at stake," said the Minister, and she has committed to achieving a "highly participatory, multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral" legal framework.
One in three tourist places in the Canary Islands is a vacation home
The Canary Islands is the second community with the most vacation rental homes, behind the Balearic Islands, about 43,000, which represents an offer of 175,000 beds, 33.5% of the accommodation offer of the islands, according to INE data cited by the Minister.
The current regulation dates back to 2015, a decree that was annulled in some aspects by the courts and in general the regulations that affect this sector are between 8 and 27 years old, when the explosion of this tourist modality is much more recent, the Minister pointed out.
The regulation does not include tourist or urban planning or set quantitative limits, there is no regulation of quality or distinction of categories or modalities, not even a single registry.
There are "worrying" cases, such as that of La Oliva, in Fuerteventura, where 30 percent of the homes in the municipality are used for vacation rentals, she pointed out.
Jessica de León also said that the state Housing Law "disprotects the owner and defends the squatter", which means that there is less supply and the real estate market is strained.
All groups have agreed on the need for regulation.