At the heart of the 2026 Nationality Debate, President Fernando Clavijo has placed southern Gran Canaria at the center of his new social roadmap. With a statement intended to mark a turning point in this legislative term—"we will not allow speculation while Canarians lack housing"—the regional leader has announced a regulatory offensive that will directly impact tourist municipalities, where the coexistence of holiday rentals and the residential market has reached its breaking point.
Clavijo has been emphatic in acknowledging that the current model is exhausted and that the only way out is to "break with it and start from scratch." For southern Gran Canaria, this translates into a significant measure: the modification of the Local Government Act. This reform will grant the mayors of San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Mogán the legal authority to designate specific areas where property purchases are reserved exclusively for primary residences. This is a direct blow to the uncontrolled expansion of short-term rental properties in residential neighborhoods, seeking to curb the transfer of homes from the local market to the tourist market.
The president's strategy to "cool down" speculation in the strained southern areas also relies on controlling demand. Clavijo reiterated the new administrative safeguard: the requirement of 12 years of residency (15 if uninterrupted) to access public housing. "Housing for the people of the Canary Islands," he declared, in a message that resonates strongly in a south where local residents compete on price with foreign investors who, according to industry data, already account for a substantial portion of real estate transactions.
Despite boasting about the construction pace—between 5.000 and 6.000 homes annually—the president admitted that the construction engine must accelerate to 15.000 units to close the real gap. In this regard, Congressional support for implementing the RIC (Real Estate Investment Trust) for housing and streamlined permitting processes are presented as incentives for the private sector to resume building in the south, not for tourists, but for workers. With tourism indicators beginning to show signs of "maturity and cooling," Clavijo sees housing not only as a right, but also as the new economic lifeline to maintain employment in the face of global uncertainty.
