Canary Islands Construction Sector Warns Bureaucratic Delays Threaten Economic Future
The construction sector in the Canary Islands warns that systemic delays in urban planning licenses are stifling economic growth and exacerbating the regional housing crisis.
The delay in granting urban planning licenses in the Canary Islands is no longer just a technical issue; it has become a structural problem that threatens the region's economic future. According to the Provincial Federation of Construction Entities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (FEPECO), the slow processing of building permits by local councils is the primary bottleneck for development and a major driver of the current housing crisis.
FEPECO, led by Óscar Izquierdo, points to a massive gap between the law—which requires permits to be processed within three months—and reality. In practice, applications often take a year to resolve, with some cases dragging on for over four years. This inefficiency discourages private investment and adds roughly 18,000 euros to the cost of every new home, a price tag that is ultimately passed on to the buyer.
The economic impact is widespread. The association warns that bureaucracy now accounts for nearly a third of the construction cycle, hurting the region's competitiveness and stifling job creation. The situation is particularly severe in municipalities like Candelaria, Granadilla, and Garachico, where local authorities have been slow to adopt Decree-Law 3/2025, a measure specifically designed to speed up these procedures.
To fix this, the construction sector is calling for a complete overhaul of administrative processes rather than simply hiring more staff. FEPECO’s main proposal is to outsource technical reviews to professional associations and accredited firms. This approach, which has already worked well in La Laguna, would allow for faster processing while ensuring that city councils retain the final say on all decisions.
At its core, this crisis is a failure of governance. A lack of consistent standards and accountability within local administrations is not only blocking construction but also costing municipalities vital tax revenue and economic growth. With the islands facing a housing emergency, the association stresses that these administrative delays are no longer a minor inconvenience—they are an unsustainable barrier to the region's progress.