Madrid can't touch the illegal holiday rentals in the Canary Islands. The Canaries can.

What the court decided

The ruling comes after an appeal by the Generalitat Valenciana. The Supreme Court declared the national register null and void, on the grounds that the Spanish state lacks the competence to impose a comprehensive national register on top of existing regional ones. Translation: the Housing Ministry in Madrid took on powers it doesn't have — tourism and housing regulation are the business of the autonomous regions.

The ruling also matters for the Canary Islands. The Canarian government had already challenged Madrid's register before the Supreme Court — arguing that properties legally rented out in the Canaries were classed as illegal by the Madrid ministry simply because they weren't on the new national register. An absurd situation: legal in one authority, illegal in another.

What remains of the Madrid decree: the digital one-stop shop where platforms like Airbnb and Booking have to report data, the data-transmission obligations, and statistical use. That isn't nothing — but it's significantly less than what Madrid wanted.

Why this win is not the all-clear

Anyone breathing a sigh of relief is missing the point. While Madrid and the Canaries were fighting over jurisdictions, the Canarian regional government was creating facts on the ground. On 10 December 2025, Ley 6/2025 — the Law on the Sustainable Regulation of Tourist Use of Dwellings came into force. That's the real ploughing machine.

What the Canarian Ley 6/2025 says:

Quotas per municipality. Each island council sets a cap on the share of housing that can be used as holiday rentals. In municipalities already past the limit — and that is most tourism areas in Gran Canaria and Tenerife — no new licences are being issued.

Technical requirements. Minimum bedroom size, ventilation, fire safety, energy certificate, noise protection. Properties that don't meet these standards are out — even if they have been rented out legally for years.

Transitional regime with deadlines. Licences issued before 10 December 2025 get a grace period but must be brought up to the new standards. Anyone renting out without a licence — and there are many — gets no grace period.

Full block in residential buildings. Under the new law, holiday rentals in a multi-family building need majority approval from the owners' association. In existing apartment blocks, that's often hard to get.

Residential vs. tourist land. Properties on land classified as purely tourist may no longer be rented out as holiday lets — that would compete with hotels. Conversely, holiday rentals on residential land need explicit residential-use authorisation.

The result: what Madrid wanted to achieve through the national register is now locked in through the back door of Canarian regulation. It just isn't Madrid doing it — it's Las Palmas and Santa Cruz.

What this means for owners

Anyone who owns or wants to own a holiday rental in the Canaries faces three realistic scenarios:

Scenario 1 — existing licence before 10 December 2025. The grace period applies, but the technical requirements still have to be met. Anyone failing to demonstrate compliance during the transition loses their licence. Recommendation: bring in a structural engineer and a lawyer now, not later.

Scenario 2 — letting without a licence for years. This is tight. The new law makes clear that subsequent legalisation is only possible in municipalities whose quota hasn't yet been hit. In most tourism municipalities — Mogán, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Adeje, Arona — the quota is full or nearly so. Anyone who has been renting out informally is very unlikely to get a licence now.

Scenario 3 — new purchase with intent to let. Anyone buying with the intention of running holiday rentals should check the licence status before purchase — not with the estate agent, but with the local town hall and the Cabildo. What an agent describes as «established as holiday rental» may no longer be authorisable under the new law.

What this means for tenants and residents

Here comes the second half of the story. The housing crisis in the Canaries is real — rents rose 8.8% in 2025, property purchases became 17.5% more expensive. The Canarian government argues that reducing holiday rentals will free up housing for locals and residents.

True: if holiday rentals disappear, some come back onto the long-term rental market. Also true: landlords who have been earning multiples from tourists won't voluntarily rent out cheaply. Some would rather leave properties empty waiting for holiday rentals to return. Others will switch to medium-term lets aimed at digital nomads — same clientele, same price, different legal category.

The question isn't whether but how fast the new regulation actually reshapes the market. Experience from Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca shows: a transition of two to three years, then hard closures — but also a growing grey market for informal rentals that's hard to police.

The bigger picture

What was decided on 21 May is a win for regional autonomy over central government. It isn't a win for holiday rentals. The Canaries will push through their own regulation — and in many points it's stricter than what Madrid wanted. Anyone wanting to let legally in the Canaries now needs a lawyer, a structural engineer and a proper licence check. Anyone letting illegally has a growing problem.

Madrid wanted to shut down all illegal holiday rentals in the Canary Islands. The court stopped it. Now the Canaries are doing it themselves.

Frequently asked questions

What does the 21 May ruling mean for me as a landlord?

If you rent out a property in the Canaries via Airbnb or Booking, you did not have to register on the national Madrid register. The register has been annulled by the court. But: Canarian licensing under Ley 6/2025 remains fully in force.

I've been renting without an official licence for years. What now?

Risk. The new Ley 6/2025 sets out high fines and, in many tourism municipalities, no longer allows subsequent legalisation because the quotas are full. A legal check is urgently recommended.

Does the ruling also apply to the digital one-stop shop?

No. The «Ventanilla Única Digital» remains in place. Platforms like Airbnb and Booking still have to report data to the ministry; statistical exchange continues.

Will my rent now go down?

Not in the short term. In the medium term, some properties may return to the long-term rental market — experience from Barcelona and Mallorca suggests 2–3 years before visible effects. Expect a grey market for informal short-term rentals.

What does a property have to meet under Ley 6/2025?

Minimum bedroom size, ventilation, fire safety, energy certificate, noise protection, owners' association consent in multi-family buildings, correct land-use category. Details from the local town hall and the island Cabildo.

Who do I turn to for a licence check?

For legal review: a lawyer specialising in Spanish property and tourism law. For technical compliance: a Spanish-licensed building engineer («arquitecto técnico»). Consumer body OCU and the ASCAV association offer initial guidance.