Court upholds €204,458 fine over unauthorised works at Oliva Beach in Corralejo

Spain’s National Court has upheld a €204,458 fine against Geafond Número Uno Lanzarote, a company linked to RIU, for unauthorised works and installations at the Oliva Beach hotel complex in Fuerteventura’s Corralejo dunes.

The judgment, issued on 6 October 2026 and reported by Diario de Fuerteventura on 3 November, also confirms obligations to stop the sanctioned activities, restore the land to its previous condition and return unlawfully obtained profits to the administration. The company must also pay court costs.

The ruling is not final: a cassation appeal may be lodged within 30 days from the day after notification.

Occupation exceeded the authorised area

The court found that the hotel and apartments occupied 73,339.19 square metres of public coastal land, compared with the 59,768 square metres authorised by the concession. The judgment described this as an increase of around 22%.

The additional occupation consisted mainly of roads, access routes and landscaped areas, with land used for purposes not permitted under the concession.

Geafond argued that the disputed structures and facilities, including roads, parking areas, gardens and a tennis court, had existed since the concession began. However, the court accepted inspections, plans and measurements from the Canary Islands coastal authority as evidence of excess occupation. It found that the company had provided no evidence discrediting those measurements.

Fine and restoration duties remain

The judgment confirms a sanction imposed on 3 March 2022 and upheld by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition on 2 June that year. It covers one serious infringement involving unauthorised works and increased occupation, plus two minor breaches of concession conditions.

The court rejected the company’s procedural objections and its argument that the infringements were time-barred, finding that the activities and occupation were continuing.

For the complex, the ruling concerns more than the financial penalty: it also maintains the duties to restore the affected land and surrender unlawfully obtained profits. The source report gives no timetable for carrying out those measures.