The Sustainable City area of the Puerto de la Cruz City Council has started drafting the municipal ordinance that will regulate the tourist use of housing in the municipality. This initiative aims to adapt local regulations to the current legal framework and address the urban reality and housing access for residents.
The preliminary public consultation, which will last for ten days after its publication on the municipal website, will allow for the collection of opinions on the problems to be solved, the necessity of the ordinance, its objectives, and potential regulatory alternatives. The goal is to incorporate diverse perspectives into a regulation that will impact the residential and tourist future of the city.
Among the proposed objectives is the proposal to generally reserve at least 90% of the municipality's residential building capacity for permanent housing. This measure seeks to reinforce the residential function of urban land and reconcile tourist activity with residents' right to decent housing.
The future ordinance will include zoning to define areas and neighborhoods particularly vulnerable from a residential standpoint, identifying areas under greater pressure and establishing management criteria tailored to each area's characteristics. It will also propose prohibitions for tourist use in protected housing for ten years and in buildings lacking minimum habitability conditions.
Councilor David Hernández explained the need for this regulation given the approximately 2,300 registered holiday homes in the municipality, noting that only a small percentage has a favorable report. The concentration of properties in the hands of large operators is another factor to consider.
Hernández added that the initiative responds to the expansion of this type of accommodation and aims to provide Puerto de la Cruz with an updated regulatory framework to manage the growth of holiday rentals, ensure social cohesion, and protect residents' access to housing.
