Costa Calma considers limiting new holiday-rental licences amid a shortage of housing for residents

Costa Calma, in the municipality of Pájara and the gateway to the Jandía peninsula, has one of the highest concentrations of holiday homes in Fuerteventura. The boom in holiday-rental platforms has turned much of the area's housing stock into short-term holiday flats, in a setting where tourism has historically shaped the property market.

Tourist supply squeezing out traditional rentals

According to industry sources, a significant proportion of the homes available in Costa Calma are now listed on holiday-rental platforms, which has drastically reduced the supply of long-term residential lets. Workers in the area, many of them employed at hotels and businesses around Playa de Sotavento, say they can barely find flats available to rent year-round.

The debate over administrative regulation

Pájara Town Council, working with the Fuerteventura Cabildo, has for months been studying ways to limit the granting of new holiday-home licences in the most saturated areas of the south of the island, following a path already taken by other destinations in the Canary Islands. Council sources point to a possible selective moratorium while tourism planning is updated.

High yields, at residents' expense

Figures from property portals put the gross yield on holiday rentals in Costa Calma among the highest on the island, which explains the appeal of this model for owners compared with traditional letting — far less profitable in the short term, but essential to everyday life in the area.

Added pressure on purchase prices

On top of the rental shortage, there has been a marked rise in the cost of buying property, with investors purchasing flats specifically to run them as holiday accommodation, according to estate agents, which in turn fuels further price rises all along the Jandía coast.