The Government of the Canary Islands plans to have a law regulating the tourist use of homes before August 2024. In this line, a week ago the regional Executive opened a public consultation that will be available until November 26 to develop a Bill that regulates, among other things, vacation rentals in the Islands.
On the occasion of this announcement, the general director of Planning, Training and Tourism Promotion of the Government of the Canary Islands, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, has spoken to the microphones of Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to talk about the housing situation in the Islands and clarify doubts about this future law.
"There is no draft because there cannot be one, the legislative process is procedurally determined and the first requirement is that before starting to draft, a public consultation must be carried out," Miguel Ángel Rodríguez pointed out during his intervention in the morning show Buenos días, Lanzarote.
For the current regional Executive, composed of a pact between the Canarian Coalition, the Popular Party, the Gomera Socialist Group and the Independent Herreña Group, this initiative aims to be "sustainable."
"We have the obligation to give the best possible quality of life to present generations without compromising that the generations to come have, at least, the same," added Miguel Ángel Rodríguez.
The impact of vacation rentals
According to data offered in the radio morning show, there are currently 195,000 vacation rental places in the Canary Islands. In one month they have grown by more than 2,000. Currently these places translate into 48,000 accommodations of this type spread throughout the Archipelago.
"Is there something to be done?, that is our question. We believe so," Miguel Ángel Rodríguez started.
The general director of Planning, Training and Tourism Promotion of the Canarian Government has advanced that the Executive wants to analyze if it is possible to continue displacing residential spaces to attract more tourism.
The general director of the Canarian Government has pointed out the importance of economic, sociocultural and environmental sustainability in the rise of vacation rentals.
"Vacation rentals are not the main cause of housing problems, but they affect the problem," he defended.
From the point of view of social sustainability, for Rodríguez, vacation rentals contribute to exacerbating the problem of the lack of residential accommodation. At the same time, he pointed out that culturally the rise of this type of establishment "generates gentrification and the displacement of local people."
While from the economic point of view, the general director has added that the carrying capacity must be studied. According to Rodríguez, "it can be read in any publication that a tourist consumes two and a half times more water, more energy and generates more waste."
"Our objective and that of the Canary Islands should not be to count more tourists, but more and better jobs, more and better tax revenues to better redistribute wealth and that benefits everyone. That has to be the objective. If we continue to grow indefinitely in products that, being good, are not the ones with the highest added value, we are not doing it well," defended the general director of Planning of the regional Government.
"Quality and competitiveness are our guarantee of the future. Those tents and vans can never be vacation rentals, they are an illegal tourist offer, they have nothing to do with vacation rentals," said Miguel Ángel Rodríguez.
The general director advocates creating "modalities and categories of vacation rentals" so that people know where they are going as if they were hotels. In this line, on the use of land he foresees that in "zero growth areas" there can be no more vacation rentals. While in others there will be indicators to determine the percentage of growth of these establishments.
"There will not be, as now, the possibility that any home moves from residential to tourist use," he revealed.
Vacation rentals already legalized
For the moment and until the application of the law, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez has launched a message of tranquility to the owners of legalized vacation rentals in the Islands. "They can sleep soundly," he said, but they will have a transitional period to adapt to the new law.
"It will have three, four, five years to be energy self-sufficient, it will have to put filters in the deposits to reduce water consumption and all those who do not adapt will lose the right to continue marketing a home that does not meet minimum standards," he revealed.
"Vacation rentals are not going to be prohibited, the level of demand is going to be raised"
Regarding the inspections of vacation rentals in the Archipelago to find out if they meet the minimum quality standards and are operating in accordance with the law. The General Director of Planning has assured that there are not enough Tourism inspectors in the Canary Islands. There are only 50 positions and not all of them are filled, he said. In addition, these professionals not only inspect vacation rentals but also take care of hotels or restaurants.
"There is no money for a body of 500 inspectors, behind them there have to be instructors to sanction," he said. "The work of inspection and sanction does not reach the necessary levels due to lack of resources"
"With that number it is impossible," he said in the morning show. Therefore, through a modification of the Tourism Law of the Canary Islands, it is planned to modify the tourist police and get more allies among the state security forces.
The general director has also pointed out the misuse of vacation rentals, where there are de facto tourist complexes, which although they function as hotel complexes, are legalized as vacation rentals.
