If your lease ends in 2027, the first question is simple: can I stay? Since 8 October, possibly yes, for up to two more years. With conditions.
Royal Decree-Law 29/2026, dated 6 October and published in the BOE on the 7th, creates an extraordinary extension, on the tenant’s request, for main-residence leases ending before 31 December 2028. It is granted yearly, up to two years, and requires the tenant to be up to date on rent for the previous eight months. Until 31 December 2027, annual rent updates also stay capped: if rent is above the reference limit it cannot rise; otherwise the agreed clause applies or, without one, a 2% maximum.
For the islands, the biggest change is in seasonal and room rentals. A seasonal lease needs a real, provable reason, must run over 31 days and, as a rule, no longer than 12 months. If it runs longer without justification, or if more than two consecutive contracts between the same parties cover the same home, it is treated as a main-residence lease from the start. For rooms, the combined rents cannot exceed the rent for the whole flat.
Tourist flats are more nuanced. In tense residential-market zones, councils may add property-tax (IBI) surcharges of up to 50% on tourist accommodation, up to 100% for owners of two or more properties and 150% for four or more. The catch, according to elDiario.es, is that the Canaries currently have no recognised tense zones: municipalities must start the procedure, but the regional government makes the declaration. Four councils, the paper reports, have asked and received no answer. Until one arrives, those measures do not apply.
On tax, the decree sets 10% VAT from 1 December on furnished rentals of up to 30 nights. Libertad Digital says this does not apply in the Canaries, which use IGIC instead; I found no second source confirming it, so check with a tax adviser.
For buyers, the text plans interest-free ICO loans of up to €50,000 toward a first-home deposit, though the line is not yet open. Regional president Fernando Clavijo criticised the approach, saying the problem “cannot be solved in 48 hours” and “not all the weight can fall on owners”. Congress has one month to validate the decree, so details could still change.
As for market effects, the figures in circulation are disputed. What seems clear is that small landlords are weighing whether long-term letting still pays under these rules, and the answer, for now, depends on regulations that change faster than they can be read.
