Spain asks Brussels for permission to curb non-residential home purchases in the Canary Islands

Spain has formally asked the European Union to allow limits on certain property purchases in the Canary Islands, reigniting a familiar debate over foreign demand, housing affordability, and market intervention.

The Spanish government has proposed to the European Commission that it be authorised to restrict the purchase of homes in the Canary Islands when they are not intended for residential use. The stated aim is to ease pressure on prices and improve access to housing for young people and vulnerable groups.

The backdrop is stark. Foreign buyers account for around 36% of all home purchases in the islands, while prices have risen by more than 50% over the past decade. In a territory with limited land and a fragmented geography, the government argues that non-residential demand has a disproportionate impact on affordability.

Using the EU’s ‘outermost regions’ framework

The proposal has been submitted as part of Spain’s contribution to the review of EU rules governing the so-called outermost regions, which include territories belonging to Spain, France and Portugal and benefit from special treatment under EU law.

Spain’s minister for territorial policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, said the government is seeking legislative mechanisms to limit non-residential acquisitions in order to bring prices down. The move echoes earlier lobbying by the Canary Islands government, whose president, Fernando Clavijo, has argued that foreign demand is pricing residents out of the market.

Property sector pushes back

The proposal has drawn criticism from the ABINI and other industry bodies, who warn that restricting buyers or uses will not solve the housing problem and could damage investment and legal certainty. They argue that the real issue lies on the supply side: slow planning, limited land release and years of underbuilding.

Brussels is highly unlikely to approve such restrictions, not least because they would cut across core EU principles on free movement of capital and non-discrimination. The Spanish government is well aware of this, which makes the proposal look less like a serious policy initiative and more like political theatre — a way for Madrid to be seen to be “doing something” about housing pressures in the Canary Islands, while knowing the idea will almost certainly go nowhere.