What is the Canary Islands government proposing?

The draft provides that, in principle, only natural persons who had been registered on the islands for at least ten years without interruption at the time of completing the purchase would be allowed to buy homes on the Canary Islands. RTVC reported this on 15 October 2026. If residence was interrupted, 15 years would have to be proven.

The rule is intended to apply regardless of nationality. It would treat Spaniards, EU citizens and third-country nationals equally according to their registered length of residence. A certificate of registration issued by a Canary Islands municipality is envisaged as proof.

In addition, one person would be allowed to own or acquire at most two homes on the Canary Islands. These would have to be in different municipalities. This would in principle leave a second home possible alongside the main residence.

What applies to companies and investment firms?

Companies and investment firms would only be allowed to acquire homes if their corporate purpose includes their sale or rental to private individuals. This emerges from the draft quoted by RTVC.

Purchases made in breach of the requirements would be void under the draft and could not be entered in the land registry. The same applies to purchases by companies whose corporate purpose does not include sale or rental to private individuals.

According to RTVC, transfers upon death, i.e. inheritances, are exempt from the restrictions.

Who would be excluded from buying?

Not nationality, but the length of registration would be decisive. Anyone who uses the Canary Islands as a second home or has been registered there for less than ten or 15 years respectively would be excluded from buying under the draft.

Tourists and buyers not registered on the islands would have no right to buy under this rule. This also affects holiday home buyers who have so far been able to acquire a property on the Canary Islands without being registered there.

Long-term residents who meet the required registration period could continue to buy. This is subject to the two-home limit and the other legal conditions.

What about holiday rentals and municipalities?

In parallel, municipalities are to be enabled to restrict the holiday home market locally. However, the underlying reports do not name a definitive list of affected municipalities, no uniform exclusion zones and no concrete deadlines for existing holiday accommodation.

The draft also provides that municipalities may prohibit purchases or rentals by citizens from non-EU countries who have not lived in the municipality for at least two years. RTVC cites citizens of the United Kingdom as an example.

The government also proposes enabling municipalities to introduce tourism taxes.

Why is the draft being proposed?

The government justifies the draft with access to housing for the population living on the islands. It invokes Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which provides for special arrangements for outermost regions.

What happens next?

The draft is not yet applicable law. The Canary Islands government has merely sent the Spanish state a draft for a royal decree-law. The Spanish central government is now decisive.

The draft must be examined there and adopted by the Council of Ministers. According to the information available, the measure was not yet contained in an adopted decree on 15 October 2026.

No concrete voting or entry-into-force date has been given. Until publication in the BOE, the Spanish official state gazette, the applicable purchase law remains unchanged.