Puerto de la Cruz Moves to Regulate Vacation Rentals Amid Housing Pressure

Puerto de la Cruz City Council has begun drafting new rules to regulate vacation rentals, marking a major shift in how the city manages tourism. Local reports indicate that the council aims to bring order to a sector that has largely operated without oversight; currently, only a small fraction of the 2,300 registered properties have completed the necessary notifications or received approval from the Tenerife Island Council.

Led by the Sustainable City department, this initiative is a direct response to Law 6/2025, which governs the sustainable use of tourist housing. First Deputy Mayor David Hernández emphasized that the move is urgent, as there is a significant gap between the reality of the rental market and official administrative records. To support these new regulations, the council has set aside 14,950 euros for a study to assess how vacation rentals affect the local housing market, public services, and the community, particularly in busy areas like the historic center and Punta Brava.

This decision comes amid rising housing pressure across the Canary Islands. Tenerife holds nearly 41% of the region’s 38,000 vacation homes, fueling a heated debate over how to balance the tourism economy with the local need for housing. Under current regional law, 90% of buildable land must be reserved for residential use, unless a municipality can prove that tourism is not harming residents' access to homes.

Puerto de la Cruz is now joining other Tenerife municipalities in prioritizing residential stock. While Granadilla de Abona has already passed specific regulations, other areas like Adeje have temporarily suspended new registrations, and cities like Santa Cruz and La Laguna are updating their urban planning policies. This shift puts the responsibility on local governments to decide where and how vacation rentals can exist sustainably, as the total number of tourist beds remains a subject of intense public debate.