FAPAVAT denies 53,000 tourist homes will move into the residential market

The Federation of Associations of Owners of Tourist Rental Homes (FAPAVAT), through its president Doris Borrego, responded to the Prime Minister’s statements about the alleged incorporation of 53,000 tourist homes into the residential market.

“They are neither illegal nor will they move to the residential market,” Borrego said, emphasizing that the future of these properties depends on owners’ decisions and on the legal certainty guaranteed by the regulations.

FAPAVAT warned that the immediate effect of any forced conversion could be that many of these dwellings shift to short‑stay rentals or even remain closed, rather than becoming long‑term rentals.

Borrego, who also presides over the Canary Islands Association of Vacation Rentals (ASCAV), added that small owners cannot fulfill the social function of guaranteeing housing, a role that belongs to the State. She cautioned that the measures could benefit large investment funds at the expense of families who have acquired second homes through their own effort.

FAPAVAT Refutes Central‑Government Figures

The announcement by the Prime Minister that more than 53,000 properties currently rented as tourist homes will transition to the residential market is, according to FAPAVAT, “far from reality.”

• No previous government that promised to ban tourist homes to boost residential rental supply has succeeded in delivering on that promise.
• The 53,000 homes cited by the Government are not illegal simply because they lack a registration number in the Property Registry.
• Revocation of licenses or responsible declarations would be the competence of the Autonomous Communities, not a blanket national decree.
• Excluding these properties from the Registry would only prevent them from being advertised on platforms that promote such offers.

Torres Defends Sánchez’s Position

Ángel Víctor Torres, secretary‑general of the PSOE in the Canary Islands, praised the removal of illegal listings as a “concrete, effective and real” action, contrasting it with what he described as a previous lack of regulation.

“It is a tangible step that directly tackles the problem,” Torres said.

The National Commission of Markets and Competition, however, has expressed reservations about overly strict regulation, warning that it could reduce vacation rentals to a “residual activity.”

Regulation Advances in the Canary Islands

The Parliament of the Canary Islands is processing the Law on Tourist Use of Housing (LOSUTV), which aims to:

• Limit vacation rentals and reserve the majority of building capacity for residential use.
• Re‑integrate roughly 30 % of current tourist homes into the long‑term rental market, according to the regional executive.
• Exclude up to 90 % of the current supply from the tourist‑rental market, according to ASCAV.

Key provisions of the law:

• Tourist use is limited to one in ten homes, with exceptions for the islands of La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro.
• The Government has reinforced its strategy through agreements with platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to remove thousands of unregistered listings, aiming to combat irregular supply and ensure legal certainty.