San Bartolomé de Tirajana tightens control over illegal holiday lets in Playa del Inglés

San Bartolomé de Tirajana town council has stepped up inspections in recent weeks of homes advertised as tourist accommodation in Playa del Inglés and the residential district of San Fernando, after council services found, according to municipal sources, several hundred active listings on digital platforms without the required holiday-let licence.

A boom in unregulated listings

According to the officials consulted, the proliferation of unregulated tourist flats is concentrated in the mixed-use buildings of San Fernando, where long-term tenants live alongside flats that change occupants every few days. Property portals estimate that nightly rental income during peak season can be up to three times higher than a traditional residential let, which has sharply increased the appeal of this model among small landlords.

Residents calling for a tougher stance

Residents' associations in San Fernando have spent months calling on the council to penalise unlicensed flats more quickly, citing problems with noise, disruption and the constant turnover of tourists in buildings originally designed for residential use. The council itself admits that the municipal tourism bylaw, approved years ago, needs updating to keep pace with the growth of app-managed short-term lets.

The impact on the residential rental market

Property sector sources agree that converting long-term flats into holiday accommodation has significantly reduced the pool of housing available for traditional rental in the municipality's tourist zone, pushing up the rents paid by service-sector workers who want to live near their jobs.

The council's next steps

The municipal government is looking at toughening penalties and coordinating with the Government of the Canary Islands to cross-reference data from holiday-rental platforms with the register of licensed tourist properties, in line with demands other coastal councils across the archipelago have been raising for months.