Canary Islands to Require Minimum 10 Years Residency for Public Housing

The new system also allows priority access to housing based on the social, economic, and family situation of applicants.

The Canary Islands Government Council approved today, at the proposal of the Minister of Public Works, Housing and Mobility, Pablo Rodríguez, a draft decree that regulates the registration and operation of the Public Registry of Applicants for Protected Housing in the Canary Islands, as well as the allocation regime for protected and publicly promoted housing and its related provisions.

With this agreement, the Executive will consider the normative text and request an opinion from the Canary Islands Advisory Council before final approval. The decree establishes an updated and uniform framework for managing the Public Registry of Applicants for Protected Housing, which will be unique for the entire archipelago and will be mandatory for anyone wishing to access publicly promoted protected housing.

The regulation introduces a change in the allocation system for publicly promoted protected housing. Unlike the previous model, which relied mainly on a lottery when demand exceeded supply, the new decree sets out an allocation procedure based on objective scoring criteria. This system enables priority access to housing according to the applicant’s social, economic, and family circumstances, giving special attention to households that face the greatest difficulty obtaining decent housing.

The decree explicitly strengthens the residency and “arraigo” (rootedness) requirements in the Canary Islands as a key element for accessing public housing. To be awarded a publicly promoted protected home, an applicant must demonstrate uninterrupted residence in the archipelago for at least ten years, or fifteen years if the residence has been interrupted. In addition, prolonged residence or employment ties to the municipality where the housing project is located are required, ensuring that the public housing stock primarily serves people with genuine ties to the territory.

The text also details the registration requirements, clearly defining the income and asset thresholds that applicants must meet to qualify for protected housing.