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Classified Activities: The Obligation Nobody Asked You For... Until Now

The Canary Islands Government maintains that classified activity has been mandatory since 2015, although for years almost nobody required it. Law 7/2026 finally opens a regularisation route: prior notification with a technical report before 31 July 2027.

Update (17 October 2026). When we published this article, the regularisation being demanded did not yet exist. It does now: Law 7/2026, in force since 15 August 2026, gives until 31 July 2027 to file the prior notification of classified activity. We explain it at the end.

The Canary Islands Government's "clarification"

On 18 November 2025, the Canary Islands Government's Department of Tourism and Employment published a statement. According to it, the obligation to comply with the classified-activities rules is not new: it comes from Decree 113/2015.

Decree 113/2015 already required holiday rental homes to comply with sector rules, "and in general, those on classified activities". For the Government, that means the procedure with the town hall had to be done before filing the declaración responsable with the Cabildo.

Law 6/2025, in force since 13 December 2025, now says it bluntly in article 6: using a home for tourism is a classified activity and Law 7/2011 on classified activities applies to it.

The problem: nobody asked you

Many owners ask themselves the same question:

If it was mandatory since 2015, why did almost no town hall require it for 10 years?

In practice:

  • many town halls did not mention this requirement;
  • the Cabildos registered declaraciones responsables without it;
  • thousands of holiday rental homes have been operating like this for years.

What the Government said about declarations without classified activity

The Government's statement was clear, and worrying:

"If a declaración responsable had previously been filed under Decree 113/2015 without first completing the mandatory classified-activity procedure, that declaración responsable... would fall under one of the grounds in article 69 of Law 39/2015 and this would make it impossible to continue exercising the right or activity concerned."

In other words: without classified activity, your declaración responsable could be considered invalid. Law 6/2025 reinforces this: the classified-activity documentation is an essential datum of the declaración responsable, and an essential omission prevents continuing the activity.

In November 2025, moreover, the route to regularise did not exist. The Government itself acknowledged that an amendment to give 12 months to regularise "could not even be put to a vote".

What has changed: regularisation now exists

Law 7/2026 of 31 July added a tenth transitional provision to Law 6/2025:

  • Who it affects: anyone who filed the declaración responsable before the law came into force but did not file the prior notification of classified activities with the town hall.
  • Deadline: it can be filed before 31 July 2027.
  • Minimum documentation:
    • Municipal certificate that the home was built in line with planning rules and has its licences. Instead, you can prove it is out of planning order or that its tourist use is consolidated.
    • Technical report signed by a competent professional: plans of the current state (floor plans, elevation and sections) and photographs of the façade and interior. It must show compliance with the classified-activities rules.
  • Consequence: filing it lets you take advantage of the law's transitional regime.

If you do not file it before 31 July 2027, you will have to stop the activity immediately and your declaración responsable will automatically lapse.

Meanwhile, checks are moving forward:

  • Under Law 6/2025, the Cabildos and town halls must apply checking plans to all existing holiday rental homes.
  • In Fuerteventura, the Canary Islands Police are already inspecting homes.

What you can do now

  1. Check with your town hall whether you ever filed the prior notification of classified activity.
  2. If you did not, request the municipal certificate on the home's planning status.
  3. Commission the technical report. The sooner you have it, the sooner you can file, and town halls will be swamped close to the deadline.
  4. File the prior notification before 31 July 2027.

We can help

At FuerteProyecto we prepare the technical report on classified activity, signed by a competent professional, and guide you on the rest of the documentation for the town hall.

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