Telde freezes new holiday-let licences in its old town to protect residential rental housing

Telde town council has approved a temporary moratorium suspending new holiday-let licences around the historic quarter of San Juan, home to the basilica of San Juan Bautista, after confirming, according to municipal sources, a sustained fall in the residential rental supply available in the area.

Fewer traditional rental flats in the centre

Council housing services have recorded a marked drop in recent years in the number of homes offered for long-term rental in Telde's old town, alongside a rise in short-stay tourist listings on the very same streets, a shift the council attributes to the higher returns from holiday lets compared with residential rentals.

A pioneering move in the east of the island

With this moratorium, Telde becomes one of the first municipalities in eastern Gran Canaria to administratively limit the growth of tourist housing outside areas already established for that use, in a move similar to those other councils across the archipelago have been exploring in response to the impact of such properties on the residential market.

Mixed reactions

Landlords' associations have voiced their displeasure at the measure, which they see as limiting their freedom to profit from their properties, while residents' groups in the historic centre have welcomed it, believing it could stop long-standing residents from being pushed out to other, more affordable parts of Telde.

Monitoring and possible expansion

The council has said it will assess the moratorium's impact over the coming months and has not ruled out extending it to other parts of the municipality, such as the Jinámar area or Vecindario itself, if residential rental supply figures fail to improve, in coordination with the Housing Ministry of the Government of the Canary Islands.