Residents of the UK and Ireland with secondary accommodation in the Canary Islands have faced fines of £2,000 for refusing to rent out their apartments to tourists.
Residents in Gran Canaria were surprised to receive fines for using their apartments as accommodation instead of renting them out to tourists. According to the law, owners are required to rent out apartments through registered tour operators, and not independently.
This has sparked protests on the island and debate over the implications of the law, which penalizes those who want to use their property in tourist areas as a primary residence or holiday home.
The first to be fined was pensioner John Hefferman, who expressed his displeasure after receiving a £1,930 fine upon arriving at his flat, which he bought 13 years ago. Hefferman, who did not receive notice of the fine in time to appeal, shared his concerns about the future of his property and whether his family could use it during the winter months.