I’m Laura Leyshon and I’m Las Palmas’ resident property expert. I work for RE/MAX Cony Overseas, one of the city’s oldest estate agencies and the first RE/MAX office to open in Europe. Cony Overseas has an excellent local reputation and has helped hundreds of foreign buyers and sellers in Las Palmas and all over Gran […]
Las Palmas Property: Getting Your Holiday Rental Property Paperwork
Getting a holiday rental license in Las Palmas is very simple.
In theory.
Getting a holiday rental license in Las Palmas
All you need to do is go to the island’s main tourism office (Patronato de Turismo) on Calle Mayor in Triana. Here, you fill in a simple form, hand in some and some paperwork and wait a couple of weeks. If you’ve got all the documents, the process is a formality and there is no inspection of your property.
You get a license and a number for your property, go to a print shop to get a plaque (about 40 euros), and off you go.
However, there is a catch.
The paper chase
To issue a license, the Patronato needs one of three bits of paper that are deemed to certify that your property is suitable for tourist rentals.
They are…
A cedula de habitabilidad, certificado de primera occupacion or a declaracion responsable.
If you have one of these three papers, you can get a Vivienda Vacacional license from the Patronato de Turismo on Calle Mayor de Triana within two weeks. The office is on the ground floor.
If you don’t have one of the documents, you have to get one. There are three ways to do it…
A duplicate cédula de habitabilidad
This certificate was handed out when your house was first finished and declared habitable. Most owners threw them away as they weren’t needed for anything.
To get a duplicate cédula, you go to the Consejeria de Viviendas ( C/ Profesor Agustín Millares Carló, nº 18, Edif.Usos Múltiples II) with a copy of the escritura and a copy of your ID. You fill in a form, hand it all in and wait about four months.
If your property was built between 2003 and May 12 2011, then you apply for a duplicate cédula at the Ayuntamiento rather than the Consejería de Viviendas.
If your property was completed after May 12 20111, you won’t have a cédula as Las Palmas replaced them with a declaración responsable issued by the builder or promoter.
A duplicate certificado de primera occupación
A certificate issued when a property is first lived in. Everyone threw them away s they were pointless.
Get a duplicate in the Ayuntamiento (Calle León y Castillo, 270, 3rd floor, Fomento office) by filling in a form and giving it along with a copy of your ID and a copy of your escritura. The wait is currently months rather than weeks.
This document was also abolished within Las Palmas on May 12 , 2011 and replaced with a declaración responsable provided by the builder or promoter.
Getting a declaración responsable
This certificate done by an architect states that your property is suitable for rental and conforms to all legal building standards. It involves an inspection and a report, takes a week or two and costs around 300 euros. You then have to hand it in to your Ayuntamiento and wait a few days or weeks for it to be stamped and approved.
Almost all properties qualify although you have to be careful in old buildings with narrow staircases and no lift.
A declaración responsable is the only way of getting your holiday rental license if you don’t have the papers and can’t get duplicates.
Third-party applications
Anyone can apply for these documents in your name provided that they have a copy of your ID and a signed poder (authorization document). A third party can also hand in the Vivienda Vacacional license application with a poder and copy of your ID. However, you will have to sign the application form, or get a noratized poder to allow your representative to do it for you.
Renting without a license
If you rent out your property via portals like Booking.com without a license, you could be fined up to €30,000 (although, so far, there hasn’t been a single fine issued in Las Palmas since short-term rental was legalized in 2015).
I’d advise anyone thinking of renting their property to tourists to get the license and not have to worry about an inspector calling. Even if you have to pay for a declaración responsable, the cost is minimal when you compare it to the returns over the first year.
If you want to know more about renting out a Las Palmas property as a Vivienda Vacacional, please get in touch. I run a full Las Palmas property management service that includes maintenance, online advertising, bookings, guest relations and cleaning.
I'm Laura Leyshon and I help foreign property buyers and sellers in Gran Canaria. I work with RE/MAX Cony Overseas, one of the island's oldest and most prestigious agencies, and I offer a complete, professional service with a personal touch. If you want to buy or sell property in Gran Canaria and want to work with one good agent, please get in touch.
