The Canarian Parliament is experiencing a period of intense negotiation as it approaches the vote on a bill aimed at streamlining urban planning permits and boosting housing construction. However, the spotlight has shifted to a modification directly impacting the vacation rental law, recently incorporated during a parliamentary committee session.
A trans-agreement amendment, driven by the Gomera Socialist Group (ASG), PSOE, and Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista, with support from Vox, proposes reclassifying vacation rentals from "classified activity" to "harmless activity." This change would remove a restrictive regime for certain owners, particularly small proprietors in the Green Islands who rely on this supplementary income.
The initiative, which seemed headed for approval, has been complicated by a dissenting vote filed by Canarian Coalition (CC) to exclude the modification. ASG has challenged the admission of this vote, but the Parliament's Board, backed by legal services, has confirmed it can be put to a vote in the plenary session. The current parliamentary arithmetic, with CC, PP, and the Mixed Group (AHI) holding 35 seats, suggests a potential majority to reject the amendment, contingent on the vote of the non-attached deputy Marta Gómez.
Sources from Canarian Coalition acknowledge that the situation remains open until the last moment and that efforts will be made to bridge gaps, especially with ASG. The Gomera party, which supported the law in December after agreeing on potential revisions, considers the modification "essential" for thousands of small owners and is maintaining dialogue to preserve it.
Meanwhile, Esther González, a deputy for Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista, expresses pessimism about the amendment's future, criticizing the procedure used to attempt to remove a modification already approved in committee. The "classified activity" status entails stricter requirements for noise, sanitation, and safety, which the amendment's proponents aim to avoid for those already legally operating before the law's enactment.
Javier Valentín Peñate, vice-president of the Canarian Association of Vacation Rentals (Ascav), argues that the modification provides greater legal certainty and avoids unnecessary administrative procedures for small owners, without reducing administrative oversight, as island councils and municipalities would retain their competencies.
The main change affects vacation rentals already operating before the law came into effect, which were required to be processed as classified activities. The amendment proposes reclassifying them as "harmless activities," thereby avoiding administrative procedures deemed unnecessary by its proponents. Ascav notes that this would not eliminate controls but rather the obligation to submit the prior notification for classified activity.
