The availability of holiday villas and apartments in Lanzarote’s main resorts looks set to be restricted by a new decree announced today.

A new draft decree from the Canary Islands tourist authorities aims to allow holiday rental properties to operate only in residential areas outside of the main tourist resorts.

This general framework will apply to all of the larger islands in the Canaries, including Lanzarote. Although local governments and councils will also retain the power to make exceptions or create more flexible frameworks, reflecting the varying circumstances in each location.  

The holiday rental sector in the Canary Islands has boomed in recent years. Thanks partly to growing demand for more authentic accommodation options. But fuelled also by a legal vacuum, which was created by Supreme Court opposition to a similar previous decree in 2015 which also sought to outlaw resort-based rentals.

As a result only 6,600 of the 32,000 properties currently available for tourist lets across the archipelago are officially licensed. 

The new draft decree is expected to be ratified by the end of this year and thereafter holiday rental owners will have a further six-month grace period in which to adapt to the new ruling.

After this point in time website platforms such as AirBnB and HomeAway will only be allowed to advertise properties which have an official registration number and will be obliged to withdraw any rentals deemed illegal by the Canary Island tourist authorities within a six month timescale. A team of 14 inspectors will also be employed to police the holiday rental market.