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Impact of the New Rules on the Holiday Rental Market
What effects Law 6/2025 has on the supply of holiday rental homes, on property values and on owners' workload in the Canary Islands and Fuerteventura, using the official data available.
Article updated on 17 October 2026. The January 2025 version included projections and statements we cannot back with sources. We have rewritten it using Law 6/2025, in force since 13 December 2025, Law 7/2026 and official data.
Where we start: the official figures
The preamble of Law 6/2025 itself records the scale of the phenomenon in the Canary Islands:
- Between November 2022 and November 2023, registered holiday rental homes rose from 38,603 to 48,541, 25.7 % more in a single year.
- Holiday rental homes add up to almost 250,000 places, more than 37 % of all tourist accommodation in the archipelago.
- In Fuerteventura, places in holiday rental homes in 2023 were equivalent to 22.5 % of the island's population, the highest percentage in the Canary Islands.
The most recent INE data for Fuerteventura, published in August 2026, speak of 7,116 homes and about 30,000 places. That is about 100 homes and 500 places fewer than a year earlier.
| Municipality | Holiday rental homes | Places |
|---|---|---|
| La Oliva | 3,979 | 16,937 |
| Pájara | 1,210 | 4,575 |
| Antigua | 1,135 | 5,319 |
| Puerto del Rosario | 395 | 1,796 |
| Tuineje | 374 | 1,529 |
| Betancuria | 23 | 89 |
Source: INE, as reported by Canarias7 (29/08/2026).
Effect 1: new supply is practically frozen
Under Law 6/2025, a new holiday rental home needs:
- municipal planning that expressly allows tourist use in that area, reserving at least 90 % of the housing for residential use;
- the home to be at least 10 years old;
- to meet technical and energy requirements: 35 m², bathrooms according to places and a minimum energy certificate of F or D.
Until town halls approve that regulation, new registrations are very limited. If they do not approve it within five years, the Cabildo will apply subsidiary rules. So the likely outcome is that supply stops growing, which is what Fuerteventura's data are starting to show.
Effect 2: the licence is not sold with the house
It is a widespread mistake to think a home "with a licence" will be worth more. Under Law 6/2025:
- Consolidated tourist use ends with the transfer of the home by any title. Since Law 7/2026, the only exception is inheritance, for a maximum of 10 years.
- Declaraciones responsables under the transitional regime have an end date: December 2030, extendable in some cases.
For a buyer, the seller's tourist authorisation is not guaranteed. They would have to obtain a new one under the planning in force. The value of a holiday rental home is therefore tied more to its profitability for the current owner than to its sale price.
Effect 3: more technical and documentary demands
Homes that already operate have to prove they comply:
- Prior notification of classified activity before 31 July 2027, with a municipal certificate and technical report, if it was not filed at the time.
- Cabildo check for consolidated use: safety, health, accessibility, habitability and equipment.
- Inspections by the Canary Islands Police and checking plans by Cabildos and town halls.
It is foreseeable that some homes will not pass this filter or that their owners will decide not to adapt them. How many is not yet known: it will depend on how Cabildos and town halls apply the law.
Effect 4: the end of the "fake seasonal rental"
Since Law 7/2026, a rental of 31 days or less, or one advertised on tourist platforms, is presumed tourist. The contract has to justify the reason for the stay, with fines of up to €300,000 if it does not.
Advertising as "seasonal" what is really a holiday rental is closed off. Homes that operated that way will have to regularise, move to long-term rental or leave the tourist market.
And the residential rental market?
The declared aim of the law is to return housing to the residential market: its article 1 says so. Whether rents fall, and by how much, will depend on:
- how many holiday rental homes stop operating;
- new construction;
- demand.
There are not yet data to quantify it, and we distrust anyone who gives specific percentages.
What it means for you as an owner
- Do not sell or buy with "the licence" in mind without advice first.
- Secure your current position: prior notification of classified activity before 31/07/2027 and, if you are owner and holder, consolidated use.
- Invest in what the law requires: energy certificate, bathrooms and equipment. A home in order is the only one with a future as a holiday rental.
Can we help?
At FuerteProyecto we prepare the technical report on classified activity and the energy certificate for your holiday rental home in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
- Phone: +34 620 395 305
- Email: info@fuerteproyecto.com
