La Laguna to Impose Property Tax Surcharge on Vacant Homes to Ease Housing Crisis

Tenerife’s ongoing housing crisis has prompted local officials to look for new ways to manage property. In San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the City Council has begun the process of adding a surcharge to the Property Tax (IBI) for homes left empty for long periods. Backed by the national Housing Law (Law 12/2023), the move aims to encourage owners to put vacant properties back on the market to help ease the current supply shortage.

The City Council now has three months to finalize the technical details and update local tax rules. The goal is to make it less profitable for large property owners to keep homes vacant, encouraging them to rent them out instead. Under national law, this surcharge only applies to owners of four or more residential properties that have been left empty for more than two years.

Estimates of how many homes are sitting empty in the municipality vary, with figures ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 units. Because of this uncertainty, the City Council will not apply the tax automatically. Instead, they will use an inspection process that checks utility bills and municipal records to confirm if a property is truly unoccupied.

The tax penalty will be calculated on a sliding scale based on how long the property has been empty and how many properties the owner holds. The local government has promised that owners will have the chance to appeal before any final decision is made. There will also be a list of valid exceptions—such as cases of force majeure—to ensure the tax does not unfairly penalize owners who have legitimate reasons for leaving a property empty.

By targeting investment funds, banks, and large real estate holders, La Laguna is taking a new approach to housing management in the Canary Islands. By using these new legal powers, the city hopes to address the gap between high demand and low supply, which has driven up prices and become one of the most pressing challenges for the region.