The tourist accommodation market in southern Gran Canaria faces an extremely rigid bureaucratic environment following the full implementation of the Single Registry of Short-Term Rentals. Mogán, one of the epicenters of holiday real estate investment in the archipelago, has become the scene of a significant legal battle between asset optimization strategies and the strict registration controls imposed by the Ministry of the Presidency and Justice. A recent resolution from the Directorate General for Legal Security and Public Faith upholds the suspension of holiday rental activity in a building in the town, exposing the flaws in the legal reform that subjects tourist apartments to the strict discretion of homeowners' associations.
The conflict originated with a ruling issued by the property registrar of Mogán, Concepción Ramírez. A private investor requested the assignment of the mandatory unique registration number for operating on digital platforms for property registration number 17.455. The declaration of commencement of activity before the General Tourism Registry of the Canary Islands was registered on November 18, 2025. The registrar suspended the application upon discovering the lack of express authorization from the homeowners' association, applying the new Article 7.3 of the Horizontal Property Law, in force since April 3, 2025, as a result of the Organic Law on the Efficiency of the Public Justice Service.
The unique aspect of this case lies in the ownership structure of the property. The plaintiff is the sole owner of all the private units in the building. His legal defense articulated an argument based on commercial logic: the absence of multiple owners effectively extinguishes the functionality of a homeowners' association. Forming a collective will is materially impossible when capital and ownership are concentrated in a single hand. The investor argued that this requirement is legally impossible and that the notarial procedures for the formal termination of the horizontal property regime due to consolidation of ownership had already been initiated.
The regulatory framework surrounding short-term rentals stems from the implementation of Royal Decree 1312/2024 and European Regulation 2024/1028. These measures aim to clear the market of irregular residential supply and redirect existing stock towards long-term rentals. The reform of Article 17.12 of the Horizontal Property Law raised the required majority to veto or authorize these practices to three-fifths of the ownership shares. The second additional provision protects only licenses granted before the April 2025 cutoff date, leaving all subsequent applications without prior statutory protection or neighborhood approval.
The Directorate General for Legal Security and Public Faith has settled the dispute, siding with the Canary Islands registrar's position. The resolution of March 27, 2026, establishes that the ordinary legal framework for horizontal property ownership does not contemplate automatic exceptions simply because there is only one registered owner. The administrative body emphasizes that the registered horizontal division maintains its full legal effects and associated obligations until its dissolution is formalized and registered, or until an explicit statutory amendment is made that refers to the administration regime of Article 398 of the Civil Code, which is reserved for properties with fewer than four co-owners.
The ruling issues a serious warning to investment funds and tourism operators acquiring entire properties in southern Gran Canaria for holiday purposes. Mere ownership of the land or buildings does not exempt them from complying with the formal requirements of the new digital ecosystem for regulating accommodations. Legal advisory firms in the islands will have to review the deeds of incorporation for residential complexes before they begin marketing them on online platforms. An error in the chronology of licenses or in the drafting of the original bylaws could freeze high-value real estate assets in high-demand areas such as Puerto de Mogán or Maspalomas.
The Mogán land registry process reinforces the state's interventionist trend in controlling residential land for tourism purposes. The digital one-stop shop now acts as an automated filter where civil formalities prevail over the free exploitation of consolidated ownership. Sole proprietors are trapped in the paradox of having to process costly amendments to their property by a notary if they wish to salvage a business that the stubborn land registry bureaucracy keeps blocked due to a procedural defect.
