31+ Night Rentals, Ley 7/2026 and the 31 July 2027 VV Deadline
The regulatory framework for property rentals in the Canary Islands continues to evolve.
Ley 6/2025, de 10 de diciembre, de Ordenación Sostenible del Uso Turístico de Viviendas, introduced a new framework governing the use of residential properties for tourist accommodation. This was subsequently amended by Ley 7/2026, de 31 de julio, published in the BOC on 14 August 2026 and entering into force the following day. The new law introduced further changes to the transitional regime applicable to certain existing Viviendas Vacacionales (VV).
There has also been an important development at national level. On 21 May 2026, the Spanish Supreme Court annulled important elements of the national Registro Único de Arrendamientos (NRA/NRUA) system established by Royal Decree 1312/2024. The judgment was published in the BOE on 11 June 2026.
For property owners, 2026 has therefore been a year of significant regulatory change, and the legal and administrative situation continues to develop.
Medium-Term Rentals: 31 Nights or More
One area receiving increasing interest from property owners is the medium-term or seasonal rental (arrendamiento de temporada).
A genuine seasonal rental is different from tourist accommodation. It is intended for a tenant who has a temporary, non-tourist reason for occupying the property, such as employment, relocation, studies, a professional assignment or temporary personal circumstances.
31 nights or more is an important practical threshold when considering this type of rental. However, staying for 31 nights or longer does not automatically make a rental non-tourist. The actual purpose and circumstances of the tenancy remain relevant.
For this type of rental, a contract is necessary and should clearly establish the temporary nature of the tenancy, its duration and the reason for the tenant’s temporary occupation. Depending on the circumstances, supporting documentation may also be appropriate.
For some owners, medium-term rentals can provide a quieter alternative to frequent tourist turnover, with fewer check-ins, changeovers, cleaning requirements and periods of guest management.
Existing VV Properties and the 31 July 2027 Deadline
One of the most important changes introduced by Ley 7/2026 concerns a specific transitional category of existing VV properties.
Where an owner submitted the relevant declaración responsable before the entry into force of Ley 7/2026 but had not submitted the comunicación previa de actividades clasificadas to the relevant Ayuntamiento, the new law allows that communication to be submitted until:
31 July 2027
This is an important deadline for owners falling within this transitional category.
If the required communication is not submitted within the prescribed period, the law provides for the cessation of the tourist activity and the automatic extinction of the declaration responsible for the consolidated tourist use.
Importantly, this is not a general deadline for every VV owner to apply for a new licence. It concerns a specific transitional situation established by Ley 7/2026.
What Do the Municipalities Actually Require?
Ley 7/2026 establishes minimum documentation for this particular communication.
This includes:
- a municipal certificate confirming that the property was constructed in accordance with planning regulations and the applicable planning determinations regarding land use and construction, and that it has the required licences and authorisations; and
- a technical report (memoria) prepared by a qualified technician, including the documentation required to demonstrate compliance with the applicable classified-activity requirements.
The legislation also expressly provides that additional documentation may be required under current or future regulations.
The Practical Problem: Urbanismo Is Not Ready Everywhere
This is where the situation becomes more complicated for owners.
The law requires a municipal certificate relating to the urbanistic status of the property, but not all municipalities are currently equally prepared to process these requests. In some municipalities, the relevant Urbanismo departments are still developing their procedures, criteria and administrative capacity for dealing with this new transitional regime.
At the same time, owners are being advised that they need to comply with the new requirement and ultimately submit the comunicación previa before 31 July 2027.
This creates a practical difficulty: the owner cannot complete the required submission without documentation that may depend on the municipality’s own Urbanismo department.
For this reason, owners should not interpret the 31 July 2027 deadline as meaning that they must immediately submit an incomplete comunicación previa. The law itself requires the municipal certificate as part of the documentation.
Instead, owners should start preparing now and contact their Ayuntamiento to establish whether the relevant procedure and documentation are already available.
Where the municipality is not yet ready to issue the required certificate or has not established its procedure, owners should keep evidence of their enquiries and monitor the municipality’s implementation of the new regime.
Should Owners Wait?
The safest practical approach is therefore not simply to wait until 2027, but also not to submit incomplete documentation merely to be seen to have applied.
Owners should use the available time to:
- contact the relevant Ayuntamiento / Urbanismo department;
- establish whether the municipality is currently accepting applications for the required certificate;
- request the municipal certificate where the procedure is available;
- establish what additional documentation the municipality requires;
- engage a qualified technician to prepare the required memoria and plans; and
- submit the comunicación previa as soon as the required documentation can properly be assembled.
The underlying issue is particularly important because the general Canary Islands rules on comunicación previa provide that such a communication is accompanied by the required documentation established by regulation and the relevant local ordinance.
In short: owners should prepare now, but they should not be penalised in practice for a municipal procedure that has not yet been made operational.
The 31 July 2027 deadline should nevertheless be taken seriously.
Opposition to the New Framework
The new Canary Islands framework has also been controversial.
ASCAV, the industry association representing holiday-rental accommodation providers in the Canary Islands, and the CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia), Spain’s national authority for competition and market regulation, have raised concerns about the requirement for existing VV properties to submit a comunicación previa.
Their position is that owners who already hold a valid Vivienda Vacacional (VV) authorisation should not be required to submit an additional comunicación previa, as the necessary regulatory control is already incorporated into the existing VV declaration. They consider the additional requirement to be an unnecessary administrative burden for owners who have already obtained the relevant authorisation.
This forms part of the wider debate surrounding Ley 6/2025 and its subsequent amendment by Ley 7/2026, particularly regarding the extent to which existing VV owners should be subject to additional administrative requirements after their tourist activity has already been authorised, and despite Ley 6/2025 already having established a five-year transitional period for existing tourist-use rights, until 13. December 2030.
The legislation nevertheless remains applicable unless and until the relevant provisions are amended, suspended or successfully challenged.
Next steps for VV holders
For existing VV owners, 31 July 2027 should already be marked in the calendar if they fall within the transitional category and the required municipal communication has not yet been submitted.
GCG will assist its clients throughout the process, including coordinating with the qualified technicians, helping to organise the required documentation and supporting the submission of the comunicación previa to the relevant Municipalities.
Information date – September 2026
The legal and administrative framework governing property rentals in the Canary Islands continues to develop. Municipal procedures may vary, and this article is provided for general information only and should not be regarded as individual legal advice.
