What changes for foreign buyers and investors?
An EU or British buyer would not receive special status through their nationality. What would matter is registered residence and length of stay in the Canary Islands, as the draft envisages, according to El Día.
Those who meet the requirements could still buy a maximum of two homes in different municipalities. Non-resident visitors and foreigners without the required period of registration would not be able to buy a home under the draft.
No details have been published on existing purchase contracts, resale values, transition periods, fees or an application procedure. Nor do the available reports confirm any automatic restriction on existing property titles.
What requirements would buyers have to meet?
In principle, only natural persons with at least ten years of continuous registered residence in the Canary Islands would be allowed to buy. If their residence was interrupted, 15 years in total would have to be proven, El Día reports.
Proof would be provided through a registration certificate issued by the relevant Ayuntamiento (municipal authority), the certificado de empadronamiento. The limit would apply regardless of nationality.
People who already own two or more homes would be treated like non-residents for the planned access guarantee and would not be able to buy further homes.
What applies to companies and investment vehicles?
Companies and investment vehicles would only be allowed to buy homes if their corporate purpose includes selling or renting them to natural persons. That emerges from the draft described by El Día.
Under the draft, a purchase made without meeting the requirement would be void and could not be entered in the Registro de la Propiedad (land registry). The proposed measures would be limited to ten years from entry into force.
Why is the government proposing this limit?
The government justifies the initiative by citing the housing shortage, limited land and pressure from purchases by non-resident foreigners.
This figure is not backed by a time period or a primary statistic in the available reports.
Of these purchases, 2,666 were by non-residents and 1,963 by foreign residents.
What other measures are included in the package?
The draft also envisages amending the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos so that municipalities can designate zones where the temporary letting of homes for tourist use is prohibited. El Día reports this.
The government also proposes reforming the Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales to allow municipalities to tax overnight stays by non-resident tourists.
The “protection of the social function of housing” would serve as the legal basis for subjecting certain property transactions to prior official authorisation. The Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias could grant or refuse these authorisations.
What remains open and when could the rule come into force?
Open questions include approval by the Spanish central government and the Congreso de los Diputados, compatibility with EU law, the exact legislative text, transition rules and the treatment of ongoing purchase contracts.
According to reports, the proposals were not part of the latest government decrees. No next binding date or deadline had been given by Friday 16 October 2026.
The government cites Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which allows special arrangements for outermost regions such as the Canary Islands. There is no entry-into-force date.