Yes, but only if several conditions are all met: your municipality's planning rules must expressly allow the tourist use of homes in that area (art. 3.3 Ley 6/2025), the property must meet the minimum age, it must not be subsidised housing, the area must not be declared a stressed market and the homeowners' association must not prevent it. If everything fits, you file a declaración responsable (responsible declaration) with the cabildo (island council), which enters the property in the Registro General Turístico (the regional tourism register). The authorisation lasts five years (ten in some cases) and can be renewed.
In short
- Planning comes first: if the rules don't expressly allow the use, no authorisation is possible (art. 3.3).
- The property must be at least 10 years old, or 5 on the "green islands" and in municipalities facing depopulation (art. 5.1.a).
- The declaración responsable is filed with the cabildo, not the town hall (art. 7).
- You need a technical report, a planning certificate and, in a building under horizontal property, a certificate from the homeowners' association (art. 7.7).
- Several articles changed with Ley 7/2026; the BOE consolidated text does not reflect this yet.
- If it isn't viable, there are other options for the property: mid-term lets, long-term lets, selling or upgrading it for residential use.
Requirements for a new holiday home
Everyone says "licence", although Ley 6/2025 talks about authorisation (habilitación), which is obtained with a declaración responsable. Before you get to that paperwork, the property and the area have to pass these tests:
| Requirement | What it involves | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | The municipal plan must expressly allow holiday home use in the area. If the town hall doesn't adapt it, the cabildo can step in with substitute planning (ordenación subsidiaria) | Art. 3.3 and DT 8ª |
| Age | 10 years; 5 on the green islands and in municipalities facing depopulation. Planning rules can reduce this, except in a stressed area | Art. 5.1.a |
| Type of property | Substandard housing is not allowed, nor is housing subject to public or official protection or to a capped price in the last 10 years | Art. 4.4.g and h |
| Stressed area | If the area is declared a stressed residential market, new authorisations are automatically suspended | Art. 5.1.b |
| Homeowners' association | Not authorised if the title deeds, the bylaws or a resolution of the owners' meeting prevent it | Art. 5.1.c; arts. 7.3 and 17.12 LPH |
| Tourist building | Not possible in buildings under horizontal property set up as a tourist establishment: their units are "accommodation units, not homes" | Art. 5.1.c, para. 2 |
Planning is the test that carries the most weight. The law requires at least 90% of the residential floor space or homes in each area to be reserved for residential use, and 80% in La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro (art. 4.1). In addition, town halls are not expressly obliged to adapt their planning within five years; if they don't, the cabildo steps in with substitute planning (DT 8ª).
An example: a flat built in 2012 in Arguineguín would meet the age requirement, but that isn't enough. First you need to check whether Mogán's planning rules expressly allow the use in that area and what the building's bylaws say. The homeowners' association has its own guide: holiday homes and homeowners' associations.
Bear in mind that art. 4 was amended by Ley 7/2026. If your case depends on it, check the current wording in BOC no. 163 of 14/08/2026.
The declaración responsable: how it works
A new authorisation is obtained by filing a declaración responsable with your island's cabildo (art. 7). In it you declare that you meet the requirements, and it includes an express statement about the homeowners' association (art. 7.4.g). On the basis of that declaration, the cabildo enters the property in the Registro General Turístico of its own accord (art. 8).
Don't confuse this with the declaration of established tourist use (uso turístico consolidado), which goes to the town hall and is only for homes that were already authorised before the law. We explain it in what Ley 6/2025 changes if you already have a licence.
Documents you need
Along with the declaración responsable, art. 7.7 requires:
- a technical report on the property (memoria técnica);
- a certificate from the homeowners' association, if the building is under horizontal property;
- a planning certificate (cédula urbanística).
Art. 7 is another of those changed by Ley 7/2026, so it's best to have your architect or surveyor check the list against the current wording before filing anything.
A useful clarification: in the text of Ley 6/2025 that we have reviewed, compulsory insurance, a display plaque and a certificate of habitability (cédula de habitabilidad) do not appear as requirements in their own right. Whether it's worth having good insurance is another matter, and your decision.
Registro General Turístico
You don't need to apply for registration separately: the cabildo does it of its own accord on the basis of the declaration (art. 8). From then on the property has a registration number, which must appear in all its listings, and the registration is notified to the Land Registry (art. 8.6).
Several communications between authorities follow (art. 9):
- the cabildo notifies the town hall of the registration, and that notification counts as the prior notice of change of use (art. 9.1);
- the town hall informs the utility companies (art. 9.2);
- you, as holder, declare the change of use to the Catastro, the Spanish property cadastre (art. 9.1).
Of these, the Catastro declaration is the one you have to make yourself. Art. 9 was also amended by Ley 7/2026.
How long the authorisation lasts and how to renew it
Each declaration is valid for five years; ten in El Hierro, La Gomera, La Palma and municipalities facing depopulation. To renew it you file a new declaration in the month before it expires, provided the area is still suitable, has not been declared a stressed market and there is a favourable municipal certificate. If it isn't renewed, the deregistration is permanent (art. 10). Make a note of the date: a one-month window isn't much.
Transitional technical requirements
On a transitional basis, DT 7ª (as worded by Ley 7/2026) sets some technical minimums:
| Aspect | Transitional minimum (DT 7ª) |
|---|---|
| Floor area | 35 m² usable floor area |
| Bathrooms | 2 if it sleeps more than 4; 3 if it sleeps more than 8 |
| Energy rating | F in buildings existing at 31/12/2007; D in later ones |
These are transitional requirements and the provision itself allows for alternatives, a list that Ley 7/2026 rewrote. We won't reproduce it here until we have verified it. If your property falls short on any point, for example a 30 m² flat in Puerto Rico, go through the current DT 7ª with your architect or surveyor before ruling it out or investing in a refurbishment.
In our experience, the hardest questions come up after the purchase. If you're looking at a flat in Meloneras or Puerto Rico to use as a holiday let, ask about the area's planning rules and request the association's bylaws beforehand. Those two checks save a lot of surprises.
What the alternatives are if it isn't viable
If the planning rules don't allow it, the property is too recent or the homeowners' association has banned it, the property still has options:
- Mid-term lets (alquiler de temporada), for stays of several months for work or study. They have their own rules, different from those for holiday homes, and it's worth going through them with a professional.
- Long-term lets, as the tenant's main home.
- Selling, if the numbers no longer add up for you.
- Upgrading the property for the residential market: a refurbishment, better energy efficiency or good furnishings can raise its rental or sale value.
- Keeping a close eye on your municipality's planning, in case the town hall or the cabildo adapts it (DT 8ª).
We compare the first two options in holiday or long-term let, and in real return you'll see how to do the sums.
Canarias Prime Homes is neither a law firm nor a technical practice. We can help you organise the information, tell you what to ask and work with your lawyer or your architect or surveyor.
General information, updated on 5 October 2026. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer.
Sources and notes
- Ley 6/2025, de 10 de diciembre, de ordenación sostenible del uso turístico de viviendas: consolidated text in the BOE. At the date of this guide it does not include the 2026 reform.
- Ley 7/2026, de 31 de julio, which amends arts. 4, 7 and 9 and DT 7ª, among others: BOC no. 163 of 14/08/2026 (PDF, pp. 47-65) and BOE entry.
- Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Spain's Horizontal Property Act), arts. 7.3 and 17.12: consolidated text in the BOE.
- Observations marked "in our experience" come from our day-to-day work with owners; they are not statistics.