holiday rental law dispute canaries

Holiday rental law row escalates in Canary Islands

Row erupts over interpretation of holiday rental law ruling

A controversy surrounding the future of holiday rental legislation in the Canary Islands has escalated sharply, following a war of words between the Canary Islands Holiday Rental Association (Ascav) and the regional government’s tourism department. The dispute centres on a recent ruling by the Canary Islands High Court of Justice.

Ascav argues that the ruling does not assess the legality or quality of the public consultation process for the new law. In contrast, the tourism department interprets the same decision as a clear endorsement of its actions, affirming their correctness and transparency.

Association accuses government of lying

In a statement released this morning, Ascav directly accused the tourism department of having “palpably, knowingly, and with the sole intention of misleading public opinion, lied.” The association insists the ruling does not validate the public consultation process, as the government has allegedly claimed, but merely addresses a procedural technicality. According to Ascav, “the justice system has neither endorsed the public consultation, nor has the ruling commented on whether the process was carried out normally or abnormally, nor on the existence or absence of irregularities.”

The origins of the dispute

The conflict dates back to December 2023, when the association requested access to data from the public consultation under transparency laws. After an initial refusal from the department, Ascav took the matter to court. However, during the judicial process, the administration itself handed over the information, leading to a specific legal outcome. “What has happened is a ‘supervening loss of purpose,’ meaning there was no need to issue a ruling either upholding or dismissing the claim,” the statement explains. For Ascav, this demonstrates that there was no judicial ruling on the merits of the consultation process itself, but merely a resolution concerning an access to information request. The association concludes by denouncing what it calls a “warped use of a court ruling.”

Minister defends government’s position

For her part, the regional tourism minister, Jéssica de León (PP), when asked during the launch of a new tourism campaign for the islands, stated: “The court endorses the transparency of the process.” Countering Ascav’s interpretation, De León publicly defended an opposing reading of the ruling, explaining that the decision backs the government’s actions. “The court says not only that the consultation process was transparent, but that the administration complied fully and on time,” she claimed.

The minister argued that Ascav filed its lawsuit before the administrative process had concluded. She also justified the delay in handing over the data as being necessary to comply with data protection regulations. “We had to ensure the anonymisation of those submissions to avoid breaching the law,” she said. In this regard, she assured that all contributions were eventually provided. She even argued that the government had gone beyond what was required, stating that the administration “not only processed 5,075 submissions, but also took on board some that were submitted after the deadline and responded to them as well.”

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