The association points out that these houses will not enter the residential market.
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The Canary Islands Vacation Rental Association was quick to react to the announcement by Pedro Sánchez’s government that more than 53,000 properties currently rented as tourist accommodation will be transferred to the residential market, stating that “this couldn’t be further from the truth. To date, no government that has promised to ban tourist accommodation to increase the residential rental market has seen its promise fulfilled.”
They point out that “the 53,000 homes referred to by the Government are not illegal simply because they have not obtained a registration number from the Property Registry; it will be up to the Autonomous Communities to revoke, where appropriate, any licenses granted or declarations of responsibility issued. The only effect of their exclusion from that registry will be that they cannot be marketed through websites promoting these types of offers. Furthermore, Royal Decree 1312/2024 was appealed by the Canary Islands Vacation Rental Association (ASCAV) and several regional governments, and a ruling is pending.”
They believe that “arguing that these properties will be occupied by young people and families will only be fulfilled once the current Housing Law is repealed and legal security that provides guarantees to landlords is restored. To date, the immediate effects will be that these properties will either become short-term rentals or directly increase the housing stock that is being sealed off by owners. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), there were 3,837,328 vacant homes in Spain, representing 14.4 % of the total housing stock (which amounts to 26,623,708 homes). Not to mention the paralysis that the construction of social or protected housing has suffered for decades, leaving Spanish families far behind European families in terms of rentals,” they point out.
“The reasons for this persecution of Spanish families can only be twofold. To divert attention from the disastrous management of housing and, what would be even more serious, to obey the demands of hoteliers and investment funds, who have discovered a new goldmine in entire tourist housing buildings. Both are very interested in eliminating as much competition as possible, in order to monopolize the market exclusively. We cite the “Plan Reside” of Madrid (PP) as the best example. All private tourist housing is prohibited with the same arguments as the Spanish government (PSOE): a lack and rising price of residential rentals. However, today, 73% of buildings in the city center are susceptible to conversion into “pseudo-hotels,” mainly in the hands of investment funds. See also what happened in New York. All tourist housing was prohibited due to a lack and rising price of rent for residents. Two years later, the housing stock has not increased, nor have prices decreased, but prices have increased. “considerably the prices of hotels.”
For now, they assure, “the owners of tourist homes are free to choose what they will do with these properties, and we greatly fear that they will end up being sold to the highest bidder (foreigners). Above all, the coasts and tourist centers will suffer from the absence of these homes, since the economy they generate falls transversally on the entire business fabric of the surrounding area. What the president intends is for Spanish families who have acquired a second home through their hard work to now fill a social function that is the government’s responsibility, at their own expense. Today, FAPAVAT held a meeting with the Ministry of Housing to visualize the situation of small-scale owners of tourist homes in Spain, whom they want to exclude in order to leave the business in the hands of vulture funds and large investors. Likewise, the Ministry was informed of the situations in which thousands of small owners are finding themselves in our country due to the One-Stop Shop and registration in the Property Registry. The Ministry actively listened to the Federation showing interest in their concerns,” they conclude.
The PSOE celebrates the removal of nearly 9,000 illegal tourist apartments on the islands.
For its part, the Lanzarote Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has welcomed the removal of nearly 9,000 illegal tourist homes in the Canary Islands, a measure promoted by the Spanish government that, according to the Socialists, “restores hope to thousands of young people and families who couldn’t afford to rent” and responds to an urgent need among citizens.
The general secretary of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) in Lanzarote and a member of Congress, María Dolores Corujo, emphasized that this action demonstrates that “it is possible to act against the fraud and speculation that have turned housing into a luxury for many working families.” “Faced with the inaction of the Canary Islands Government and the Lanzarote Island Council, it was the Spanish Socialist Government that had to take the step, because without affordable homes there is no possible future for this land,” she stated.
