First, check whether your property can be a holiday home: in the Canary Islands it needs authorisation under Ley 6/2025, and not every property can get it. If it can, a holiday let usually brings in more over the year, but with income that changes every month, higher costs, more wear and tear and more work. A long-term let gives you a stable rent and fewer tasks. What decides it is the net difference using your own figures and how involved you want to be.
In short
- Without authorisation there is no legal holiday letting. That's the first thing to check.
- A holiday let depends on the season, the nightly price and reviews; a long-term let, on finding a good tenant.
- With a holiday let you pay the utilities and replace textiles and kitchenware often.
- If you want to use the property for a few weeks a year, only a holiday let allows it.
- Always compare net figures: what you keep after commissions and costs.
First: can your property be a holiday home?
Since 13 December 2025, holiday homes in the Canary Islands have been governed by Ley 6/2025, de ordenación sostenible del uso turístico de viviendas (on the sustainable regulation of the tourist use of homes), amended by Ley 7/2026. A new authorisation requires a declaración responsable (responsible declaration) filed with the cabildo (island council), and is only possible if the municipal planning rules expressly allow it. In areas declared stressed residential markets, new authorisations are suspended, and in a building under horizontal property the title deeds, the bylaws or a resolution of the owners' meeting can prevent it.
Each declaration generally lasts 5 years, with the option of renewing it if the conditions are met. In other words, even if the figures for a holiday let look better today, you have to bear in mind that the authorisation has a time limit. We explain it in detail in our guide to the holiday rental licence.
Long-term lets are governed by a different law, Ley 29/1994, de Arrendamientos Urbanos (Spain's Urban Tenancies Act). Contract length, deposit, rent reviews: before signing, go through those conditions with a professional.
The differences that really matter
| Aspect | Holiday let | Long-term let |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Varies every month with the season, price and demand | Monthly rent agreed in the contract |
| Work | With every booking: messages, arrivals, cleaning, guest registration, issues | Mainly when looking for a tenant and when something breaks |
| Wear and tear | More arrivals and departures, frequent replacements | Less turnover; the wear shows at the end of the tenancy |
| Utilities | You pay them, even though the guest uses them | As agreed in the contract |
| Rules | Authorisation (Ley 6/2025), registration number in listings, guest registration | Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos |
| Own use | You can block dates for yourself | Not while the property is let |
| Main risk | Quiet months, bad reviews, changes to the rules | Unpaid rent or a tenant who doesn't look after the property |
Guest registration deserves a special mention: with a holiday let you must report each guest's details to the Ministry of the Interior within 24 hours at most, under Real Decreto 933/2021. With dozens of bookings a year, it's another task that never stops.
In our experience, owners who move from a long-term let to a holiday let tend to underestimate the daily work and the replacements, and those who go the other way miss being able to use the property for a few weeks in summer or at Christmas, when family come over from abroad.
Run the numbers for your property
Replace the values with your own. The default values are an illustrative example, not market data or a forecast for your property.
How the comparison tool calculates
- Holiday let: average price per night × 365 × share of nights booked gives the gross accommodation income. The platform commission is deducted. The management percentage is applied to what's left. Finally, 12 months of fixed costs are deducted.
- Long-term let: monthly rent × 12, minus 12 months of fixed costs.
- Cleaning is assumed to be paid by the guest as a supplement, so it isn't included in the calculation.
- All figures are before tax.
The share of nights booked is the percentage of the 365 nights in the year that are sold. If you block weeks for yourself, lower it. If you set management to zero, the result assumes you do everything yourself, and then the cost is your time.
There are things the tool doesn't capture: replacing textiles and kitchenware, extra maintenance, empty months between tenancies or possible unpaid rent. Take them into account before deciding. For a full breakdown of costs, read how to calculate the real return, and to estimate income with our commission, use the income calculator.
What about tax?
Income from a holiday let and from letting a property as someone's main home is not always taxed in the same way, and whether you are resident in Spain also makes a difference. Before comparing net after-tax figures, check with your tax adviser.
General information, updated on 5 October 2026. It is not a substitute for advice from a tax adviser.
When each option makes sense
A holiday let usually suits you if…
- the property can be authorised and is in an area with tourist demand, such as the south of Gran Canaria;
- you want to use it for a few weeks a year;
- you accept that some months will bring in a good deal more than others;
- you have time to manage it or will hand it over to a company.
A long-term let usually suits you if…
- it can't be authorised or authorisation is uncertain;
- you prefer a predictable rent and little involvement;
- the property is in a more residential than touristy area.
If you're unsure whether to run it yourself or use a company, see the comparison in self-management or a company.
Sources and notes
- Ley 6/2025, de 10 de diciembre, de ordenación sostenible del uso turístico de viviendas: text in the BOE. Amended by Ley 7/2026, de 31 de julio: BOE entry.
- Ley 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre, de Arrendamientos Urbanos: text in the BOE.
- Guest registration: Real Decreto 933/2021, text in the BOE.
- The tool's default values are illustrative. The 16.3% commission and the 20% management fee on the base are those used in the example on our fees page.
- Observations marked "in our experience" come from our day-to-day work; they are not statistics.