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Canary Islands Holiday Rental Law: What Has Happened in a Year and What Applies Today
From Law 6/2025 to Law 7/2026, with a Supreme Court ruling and several Spanish royal decree-laws along the way. A clear timeline of what happened, what is still in force and what you need to do.
If you own a holiday home in Fuerteventura and have got lost among laws, reforms, rulings and decrees, you are not alone. In ten months there have been two Canary Islands laws, a Supreme Court ruling and several national royal decree-laws. Part of what circulates on WhatsApp, social media and the press is no longer true, or never was.
This article puts in order what has happened from November 2025 to today and separates three things: what is in force, what has been annulled and what is still only a proposal.
The short answer
- The main rule is Law 6/2025 of 10 December, in force since 13 December 2025.
- It has been amended only once: by Law 7/2026 of 31 July, in force since 15 August 2026.
- The reform does not repeal or replace it: it corrects it. Almost everything you already knew still applies.
- If you have a responsible declaration (DR) but never filed the prior notification of classified activity with the town hall, you have until 31 July 2027.
- The national Single Rental Registry no longer exists: the Supreme Court annulled it.
- The national royal decree-laws of October 2026 on rentals are pending ratification. Do not treat them as final.
Timeline: from approval to today
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 12 Nov 2025 | The Canary Islands Parliament approves the holiday rental law. |
| 18 Nov 2025 | The Canary Islands Government states that the duty to comply with classified-activity rules comes from Decree 113/2015, although in practice it was almost never required. |
| 12 Dec 2025 | Law 6/2025 of 10 December is published in the BOC. |
| 13 Dec 2025 | It comes into force. The 5-year clock of the transitional provisions starts. |
| Feb-Mar 2026 | Deadlines for the authorities: list of registered homes sent to town halls (13 February) and model DR for consolidated use (13 March). The Canary Islands Government announces it will correct the law through amendments to the licensing bill. The ASCAV association asks the Ombudsman to challenge the law before the Constitutional Court. |
| Apr 2026 | The Canary Police inspect homes in Corralejo and demand documents within 10 days. |
| May 2026 | The Supreme Court annuls the national Single Rental Registry. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on short-term rental data applies (20 May). |
| 13 Jun 2026 | Deadline for the Cabildos to approve their DR verification plan. |
| Jul 2026 | A bill from the PSOE to amend Law 6/2025 is admitted for processing in Parliament (23 July). The Supreme Court ruling is published in the BOE on 18 July. |
| 31 Jul 2026 | Law 7/2026, which amends Law 6/2025, is signed. |
| 13 Aug 2026 | Deadline for town halls to approve their classified-activity inspection plan. |
| 14-15 Aug 2026 | Law 7/2026 is published in the BOC and comes into force the next day. |
| 29 Aug 2026 | INE data: 7,116 holiday homes in Fuerteventura, about 100 fewer than a year earlier. |
| 7-8 Oct 2026 | The State approves a new rental decree-law (RDL 29/2026), pending ratification. |
| 14 Oct 2026 | The Canary Islands Parliament rejects the PSOE bill. Law 6/2025 and Law 7/2026 remain unchanged. |
| 15 Oct 2026 | The Canary Islands Government proposes to the State a 10-year residency requirement to buy property, among other measures. It is only a proposal. |
Phase one: the law (November-December 2025)
Law 6/2025 on the Sustainable Regulation of Tourist Use of Homes changed the rules from the ground up:
- New homes can only become holiday rentals where municipal planning expressly allows it. Residential land is no longer enough.
- Homes already operating move to a transitional regime. If you are both the owner and the DR holder, you can apply for consolidated tourist use, with no time limit. If not, you have 5 years (until 13 December 2030), extendable once.
- Technical requirements were set: 35 m² of usable floor area, bathrooms according to the number of guests and a minimum energy rating.
- Cabildos and town halls were tasked with checking existing homes.
Two messages from that time caused a lot of confusion and need clearing up:
- "The law gives 8 months to regularise." No. The 8 months were for the town halls to approve their inspection plan.
- "There are 3 months to file the DR." Also no. The 3 months were for the town halls to publish the model DR for consolidated use.
Classified activity was the most delicate point. The Canary Islands Government argued it had been mandatory since 2015, but many homes were authorised without it and there was no route to regularise. We covered it in our article on classified activities.
Phase two: uncertainty (spring-summer 2026)
For months the law was in force while the classified-activity regularisation remained unresolved. Several things happened at once:
- Real inspections. The Canary Police were already visiting homes in Corralejo and asking for up to 11 documents in 10 calendar days. Details in this article on inspections.
- Pressure from the sector. Owners' associations asked for the law to be challenged before the Constitutional Court. As of today no appeal against Law 6/2025 is known to have been admitted.
- Authority deadlines expiring with no public information on who complied. We reviewed it in expired inspection deadlines.
- A national registry falls. In May the Supreme Court annulled the Single Rental Registry (NRUA), because the State had no competence to create a registry overlapping the regional ones. If an inspection notice asked you for it, that requirement has lost its basis. The Canary Islands General Tourism Registry remains in force and its number is mandatory in adverts. More in Goodbye Single Registry.
Phase three: the reform (Law 7/2026)
The Canary Islands Government corrected the law through Law 7/2026 of 31 July on speeding up planning licences. The title does not say so, but its eleventh final provision amends Law 6/2025. This is what changes, according to the BOC text:
What is added or clarified
- Deadline of 31 July 2027 to file the prior notification of classified activity, with a municipal certificate and a technical report signed by a competent technician. If not filed, immediate cessation and extinction of the DR. Guide in prior notification: how to do it.
- Inheritance: the heir may continue for up to 10 years from the transfer if the deceased held both conditions. A sale still extinguishes the right. Details in inheriting a holiday home.
- Seasonal rentals: a stay of 31 days or less, or one advertised on a tourist channel, is presumed tourist use. The contract must state the reason for the stay. More in seasonal rentals and contracts.
- Occasional tourist-use home: up to 15 days a year, only if a municipal ordinance allows it.
- New offences linked to fake seasonal rentals.
- The Cabildo can deregister the home if the consolidated-use check is negative.
What is relaxed
- Class A air conditioning and accessibility go from mandatory to compensatory options.
- The minimum percentages of renewable hot water are removed.
- Road access need only reach the plot or the nearest reasonable point.
What does not change
The minimum floor area (35 m²), bathrooms and energy rating (F or D) were already in Law 6/2025. Law 7/2026 did not create them.
Full summary in Law 7/2026: everything that changes.
Phase four: national noise (October 2026)
In October the State approved a rental decree-law (RDL 29/2026, in force since 8 October). Among other things it regulates seasonal rentals, and it contains tax measures on short-term rentals.
Two warnings:
- It is pending ratification and its predecessor, RDL 26/2026, was not ratified. According to EFE, it lapses if not ratified before 13 November. In the Canary Islands, rentals of 31 days or less are still presumed to be tourist use under Law 7/2026, whatever happens to the decree.
- The VAT measures do not apply in the Canary Islands, where IGIC applies. For any tax question, consult your adviser.
On 15 October the Canary Islands Government also made a proposal to the State on residency and taxes. It is not a rule.
The PSOE bill to amend Law 6/2025, admitted for processing on 23 July, was rejected on 14 October: CC and PP voted against. Its main aims were to recognise residential use in tourist complexes and to halt penalty proceedings against people living in them. Nothing changes. The Canary Islands Government is preparing its own decree-law on converting tourist complexes to residential use, but there is no text or date yet.
What is in force, what is not and what is up in the air
| Status | What |
|---|---|
| In force | Law 6/2025 as amended by Law 7/2026. Decree 113/2015 where it does not contradict the law. Canary Islands General Tourism Registry and its mandatory number in adverts. |
| Annulled | National Single Rental Registry (RD 1312/2024). |
| Rejected | PSOE bill to amend Law 6/2025 (14 October). |
| Pending | RDL 29/2026 (ratification). Canary decree-law on tourist complexes, no text yet. Implementing regulation of Law 6/2025, not yet published. |
| Proposal only | 10-year residency and other measures put to the State on 15 October. |
What to do in your case
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You have a DR but did not file the prior notification of classified activity | Commission the technical report and request the municipal certificate. Deadline: until 31 July 2027. |
| You are the owner and DR holder and the home had been operating for more than a year before 13/12/2025 | Consider consolidated tourist use. Deadline: until 13 December 2030. See how to apply. |
| You manage a home that is not yours | You have until 13/12/2030, and your DR ends earlier if the contract with the owner ends. |
| You want to open a new holiday home | It depends on your town hall having enabled tourist use. As of today we have not been able to confirm any approved delimitation in Fuerteventura. |
| You rent on seasonal contracts | Review your contracts: 31 days or less and tourist platforms are presumed tourist rentals. |
| Your home does not reach the minimum energy rating (F if built before 2008, D if later) | Get an energy certificate and see what improvements you need. |
How not to get lost in the news
- Check the type of rule: law, decree-law, bill and proposal are not the same. Only what is published in the BOC or BOE is a rule.
- Check the date: much of what was shared before August 2026 is out of date. That includes many articles, some of ours among them, which we have corrected.
- Be wary of round figures: the "€150,000 fine" corresponds to continuing tourist use after the title has expired. Serious tourism offences are fined €1,501 to €30,000.
- Do not wait until July 2027: the municipal certificate and the report take time and town halls will be overloaded.
Need help with your home?
At FuerteProyecto we write the technical report for the prior notification of classified activity and the energy certificate for holiday homes in Fuerteventura. We will tell you what applies in your case.
- Phone: +34 620 395 305
- Email: info@fuerteproyecto.com
