Government backs Canary Islands in restricting property purchases by non‑resident foreigners

The Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, announced her backing on Thursday for the Canary Islands government’s effort to restrict the purchase of homes on the islands by non‑resident foreigners, according to regional minister Pablo Rodríguez after a meeting in Madrid, reported by Tiempo de Canarias.

Regional Minister of Public Works, Housing and Mobility, Pablo Rodríguez, and the director of the Canary Institute of Housing (ICAVI), Antonio Ortega, met today with Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez. During the meeting the State “accepted the vast majority of our proposals to the State Housing Plan so that it reflects the Canary reality and its particularities,” and also “showed its support for the defence we are presenting before the European Union to protect the right to housing for all Canarians and to limit purchases by non‑resident foreigners,” the minister explained.

The discussion also included State Secretary of Housing and Urban Agenda David Lucas Parrón and Director‑General of Housing and Land Francisco Javier Martín. The Spanish Government reaffirmed its backing of the Canary initiative and its advocacy before the EU, noting that, together with the surge in short‑term vacation rentals, foreign purchases “inflate prices, reduce the stock available for permanent residence and jeopardise the social sustainability of the territory and the right of Canarians to decent housing in the archipelago.”

“In recent years, one‑third of all property transactions in the Canary Islands have been carried out by non‑resident foreigners. In a market with limited supply and growing demand, this directly hinders Canarians from building their lives and finding a decent home,” said Minister Rodríguez.

“This support confirms that our proposal is both viable and necessary to protect the housing rights of Canary residents, reinforcing the role of ultra‑peripheral regions in housing policy planning,” he added.

Inclusion of Canary Proposals in the State Housing Plan

ICAVI director Antonio Ortega highlighted that “the Ministry has addressed 80 % of the proposals we submitted to the State Housing Plan. The next step is to detail how each action will be implemented. Regarding allocation criteria, the Ministry has asked us to revisit them at the upcoming Sectorial Conference, where autonomous communities will cast their votes.”

In October 2025, the Canary Islands government submitted a document to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda containing concrete arguments to adapt the State Housing Plan to the archipelago’s insular reality. Key proposals included:

• Updating the fund‑allocation criteria—currently based on 1991 parameters—to reflect today’s socioeconomic conditions.
• Recognising the additional costs associated with construction and development in the Canary Islands due to their insularity, dispersion, and logistical challenges.
• Revising income thresholds for access to public housing or assistance, aligning them with local realities to protect the most vulnerable Canarians.
• Funding management and administrative expenses within the plan to ensure resources for personnel, processing, and monitoring of aid.
• Introducing measures to address rental arrears, providing legal certainty for landlords and encouraging the availability of rental housing.

These proposals aim to ensure that the State Housing Plan “is not a uniform recipe” but a flexible framework sensitive to each territory’s specificities, especially ultra‑peripheral regions. The Ministry’s expressed support strengthens the Canary government’s ambition to translate these measures into tangible outcomes: more affordable public housing, adapted policies, and guarantees of the right to decent housing for all Canarians.