Fuerteventura warns illegal rural structures can bring fines and land restoration orders
An order concerning an unauthorised wooden structure in Antigua highlights the potential costs of building on rural land without permission.
Fuerteventura’s Cabildo has warned that owners of unauthorised structures on rural land can face fines and be ordered to restore the land, following a recent planning decision concerning a wooden installation in Antigua.
The Canary Islands Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment ordered planning compliance to be restored at the site, which Cabildo environmental officers reported in 2024. The land is classified for agricultural protection, and the agency concluded that the installation was incompatible with planning rules and that there was no record of the permissions needed to legalise it.
The Cabildo says paying a fine does not legalise unauthorised work or remove the obligation to restore the land. Under Canary Islands land law, fines for offences classified as very serious can reach €600,000, with the amount depending on the classification and circumstances of each case.
What the Antigua order means
In the Antigua case, the resolution warns that failure to meet the deadlines could lead to enforcement fines of up to €3,000 each, imposed monthly up to a maximum of ten. These would be separate from any penalties imposed through the corresponding sanctions procedure.
The administration could also carry out the necessary work itself and charge the person responsible, the Cabildo says. Those costs could therefore be added to any penalties and enforcement fines.
The island authority advises anyone considering a container, prefabricated home or wooden structure to check permitted uses and required permissions with the relevant town hall before buying or installing it. Neither the material used nor the fact that a structure can be dismantled exempts it from the rules.
Island-wide inspections
The order forms part of continuing work by the Cabildo, the Canary Islands Government, the six town councils, local police and the Guardia Civil to identify and address unauthorised installations. Their joint plan began in January 2024, followed by a Cabildo awareness campaign in February 2025.
During a simultaneous operation on 15 September 2026 in La Oliva, Puerto del Rosario, Antigua and Tuineje, officers and technicians carried out 64 inspections involving indications of an infringement. A September assessment by the authorities also recorded 26 documented voluntary restorations between 2023 and 2026.