Maspalomas has always been a tourist paradise, but for newly assigned police officers, living close to the police station was until recently one of the greatest incentives in the workplace: getting to work without traffic jams, getting out of the car, and being in the office in seconds. However, the Canary Islands government, in its infinite regulatory creativity, decided that some apartments in southern Gran Canaria cannot be used for that purpose. Not for living, not for renting to colleagues, or for anything other than hosting tourists. And the same thing is happening in the judiciary. Couldn't the law establish positive discrimination for those who ensure that southern Gran Canaria is a safe destination? Will it happen like in Morro Jable, where a Home School must be used?
Since April 2023, the first sanctions against owners who dared to use their apartments as residential or second homes have been published. To date, the Ministry of Tourism and Employment has fined dozens of apartments, with fines ranging from €2.253 to €9.015 depending on the severity of the violation. Some of them could be law enforcement officers, for "failing to comply with the duty to adhere to the use established in the planning, allocating said units to residential uses." In other words: if your apartment isn't being operated as tourist accommodation, you're stuck paying the bill. The agreement allowing everyone to operate as they wish must be adopted unanimously, and, curiously, there's always someone who opposes the decision, doesn't respond to the calls, or chooses not to delegate a vote.
Complexes like Los Aguacates, Playa del Inglés, have become the epicenter of this silent war. Many foreign owners, who bought apartments to use as second homes or rent them to other police officers, have faced fines and administrative threats. In this community, inspections are reported to be constant, and the feeling of persecution is widespread among residents. Even residents who have lived in their apartments for years, paying taxes and abiding by local regulations, have been forced to lease them to housing companies to avoid the risk of sanctions.
The effect on the officers is immediate: living close to the police station is no longer an incentive. Some have had to move to more distant neighborhoods, losing time and money and facing additional stress not included in their job descriptions. The Canary Islands Law on Tourism Renovation and Modernization, in force since 2013, prohibits living in tourist apartments and grants a management monopoly to the operating companies, which decide who can use the apartments and who cannot.
For many owners, the logic of the law is Kafkaesque: the building is considered "tourist" even if it has been inhabited by residents for decades, and any attempt at residential use is punishable by fines of several thousand euros. Some, for example, use their apartment six months a year and face the dilemma of paying fines or renouncing their right to reside. The Gran Canaria Island Council insists that the properties remain tourist-friendly, without considering cohabitation with legal residents.
The numbers don't lie: between 2009 and 2023, 93.000 non-hotel tourist accommodations have been taken out of operation in the Canary Islands and managed by their owners, resulting in losses of €6.367 billion and €1.291 billion less in revenue. And while the State rubs its hands with its inspections, police officers who should enjoy a basic right, such as living close to their workplace, remain trapped in a legal labyrinth where employment benefits have become an unaffordable luxury. In Maspalomas, amid swimming pools, multilingual hotels, and apartments changing hands between foreigners and residents, officers are learning to live with the irony: the law prioritizes happy tourists over rested police officers. And meanwhile, owners wonder if they haven't simply bought into a tourist dream, paid for with fines and frustration.
