Teguise considers halting new holiday-let licences in Costa Teguise amid pressure on long-term rentals

The spread of holiday lets in Costa Teguise has revived a debate that has been festering for years in the tourist north of Lanzarote: how far short-stay letting can coexist with the need for housing for those who work in the area all year round. According to property portals, the number of holiday-let listings around Playa de las Cucharas and Playa del Jablillo has multiplied over the past decade, while the supply of flats available for long-term rent has fallen sharply.

A resort running out of homes for its own workforce

Property sector sources in Teguise say a large share of landlords who once let to residents have switched to tourist letting, where returns are far higher. The upshot, according to those same sources, is that the hospitality, retail and service workers who keep Costa Teguise running are finding it ever harder to secure a flat near their workplace, and many end up commuting from Arrecife or San Bartolomé.

The council weighs a partial moratorium

Teguise Town Council has acknowledged that it is considering limiting new holiday-let licences in certain blocks of Costa Teguise, in line with the powers that regional legislation grants to tourist municipalities. Municipal sources indicate that, if approved, the measure would mainly affect residential buildings and would exclude complexes already classified as tourist establishments from the outset.

Residents' groups want the council to go further

Local residents' associations have spent months calling for a public register of holiday lets and tighter checks on flats operating without a licence, a practice that industry sources say remains common in Costa Teguise despite inspection drives by the Cabildo of Lanzarote. The debate, all sides agree, has only just begun.