Temporada rental in South Tenerife: what changed on 8 October 2026
Updated: Oct 8
On 8 October 2026 the ground shifted under seasonal rental in Spain. A royal decree-law took effect that same day and rewrote the part of the tenancy act that seasonal letting had rested on for thirty years.
If you own a property in South Tenerife and you let it for a few months at a time, this matters to you. Not in a small way.
Seasonal rental is still fully legal. It simply sits somewhere else in the law now, and the margin for doing it loosely is gone.
Here is what changed, in plain terms, and what it means for the way a season is let on this coast.
What changed on 8 October 2026?
Spain moved seasonal rental out of the regime for lettings "for use other than housing" and into residential tenancy law. The instrument is Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, of 6 October, published in the state gazette on 7 October and in force from 8 October 2026.
Three things follow from that, and each one changes how a contract has to be written.
Seasonal letting has a new legal name and a new home in the act.
There is now a hard duration line at 31 days, and a ceiling at twelve months.
The reason for the stay has to be written into the contract, and the owner has to be able to prove it.
A new name, and a new place in the law
What the market calls temporada, the act now calls arrendamiento de vivienda temporal, temporary housing rental. It is defined as a letting of a habitable property that meets the tenant's housing need while that tenant is temporarily away from their usual home, for a cause that is justified and capable of being proven.
The old route is closed. The article that used to catch seasonal lettings now covers only industrial, commercial, professional, cultural and similar uses, and it expressly excludes any letting whose object is lodging people. So a seasonal let is no longer a commercial-style tenancy. It is a residential one, with a temporary character that has to be earned and documented.
That single move is the reason every older article on this subject, including our own earlier version of this page, now reads out of date.
The 31-day line is now the border between two worlds
This is the cleanest thing to come out of the change, and it is worth committing to memory.
Up to 31 days: tourist territory. The maximum duration of a tourist letting is set by the competent administrations and can in no case exceed 31 days. That is the holiday-rental world, and it needs the tourist licence.
More than 31 days: temporary housing rental. A temporary housing tenancy has to run longer than 31 days, and as a general rule no longer than twelve months.
The two regimes now meet exactly at 31 days, with nothing in between. On the Canary side the same line was already being drawn: under the islands' own rules a stay of 31 days or less, one or more times in the same year, is presumed to be tourist activity, as is anything advertised through a tourist channel. For the background to that, our guide to the Canary holiday rental law sets it out.
The written cause is now the heart of the contract
This is the part owners need to read twice. A temporary housing tenancy has to state expressly, in the contract, the cause that makes the tenant's stay temporary. That cause has to be real and capable of being proven, and the burden of proving it falls on the landlord, not the tenant.
If that cause is not properly set out in the contract, the contract loses its temporary character. It then falls under the rules for an ordinary home tenancy, on the same terms, and it does so retroactively, back to the day it was signed.
Read that again, because it is the real change. The exposure is no longer mainly a fine. It is waking up with a long residential tenancy in a property you thought you had let for the winter.
A relocation for work, a posting, a renovation at home, a study period, a medical treatment: these are the kinds of cause the law has in mind. What will not do is a blank line, a vague phrase, or a copy-paste clause that says nothing about this particular tenant.
Not sure your contracts would hold up? Send us your situation and we will give you an honest read on it, with no obligation.
Twelve months, and the two-contract limit
The parties agree the length freely, within the limits above. If the contract was signed for less than the maximum and the reason for the temporary stay still exists when it ends, it can be extended by express agreement, without passing twelve months in total as a general rule, unless that cause still subsists afterwards.
Two things tip a temporary tenancy over into an ordinary home tenancy:
A duration that runs past twelve months without the temporary cause justifying it.
More than two consecutive temporary contracts between the same parties over the same property. In that case the first of them is treated as an ordinary home tenancy, with the minimum term and renewal rights that come with it.
For a property that welcomes the same guest back season after season, that second point is worth planning around rather than discovering.
What about contracts signed before 8 October?
They are protected, up to a point. Seasonal and temporary contracts signed before the decree took effect keep their old classification and their old legal regime until the end of the term agreed in the contract. At that point they are extinguished, with no possibility of extension.
A temporary tenancy that is renewed after that falls under the new rules. So an existing contract is safe for its run, and the next one is a new world.
If your apartment cannot get a VV licence
Nothing in this change takes that option away. New holiday-rental licences remain frozen in much of the island while municipalities rework their planning, and a good number of apartments simply cannot be registered for tourist use right now. Letting for a season remains a fully legal way to put such a property to work, and for many owners it is still the sensible answer.
What has changed is how carefully it has to be done. Before 8 October, a loosely drafted seasonal contract was mostly a tax and licensing question. Now it can hand a tenant a long residential tenancy. The model is as legal as it ever was. The room for improvisation is not.
If someone tells you that you can keep letting by the week and simply call it temporada, that was never true, and after this decree it is not even arguable. A letting of 31 days or less is tourist territory, full stop.
How we handle it
We run seasonal letting as what it legally is. That means a contract that names a real cause and can stand behind it, a term that respects the 31-day floor and the twelve-month ceiling, listings on the channels that suit longer stays rather than the tourist platforms, and an eye on how many consecutive contracts a property and a tenant have run.
We are not your lawyer or your gestor, and we will not pretend to be. Where a contract or a specific situation needs a qualified opinion, we say so and bring in the right person. Our legal team works alongside external advisers for exactly that reason. What we can tell you plainly is whether letting a season suits your property, and what it would realistically mean for you. If you want a sense of the numbers first, our guide on what a property can actually earn is a good place to start, and our practical guide to the VV licence covers the tourist side.
It is a real choice with real trade-offs, not a consolation prize. Steadier income, far fewer changeovers, less cleaning and less wear, against a lower gross than a strong tourist season and a tenant with more rights than a guest. For some apartments that trade is exactly right. For others it is not, and we would rather say so.
Wondering what your apartment should be doing? We will look at your property and the new rules together, and tell you honestly where it stands.
Frequently asked questions
What is temporada rental called now?
In the tenancy act it is now arrendamiento de vivienda temporal, temporary housing rental. The market still says temporada, and so do we, but the legal term and the legal regime both changed on 8 October 2026.
How long can a seasonal rental last in Spain now?
Longer than 31 days, and as a general rule no longer than twelve months. It can be extended by express agreement if the reason for the temporary stay still applies, without exceeding twelve months in total as a general rule, unless that cause subsists afterwards.
Does a seasonal rental need a tourist or VV licence?
No. A temporary housing rental is a residential letting, not tourist accommodation, so it does not require a tourist licence or registration as a holiday rental. It does require a contract that properly states and supports the cause of the temporary stay.
What happens if the reason for the stay is not in the contract?
The contract loses its temporary character and is treated as an ordinary home tenancy, on the same terms and retroactively to the day it was signed. The burden of proving the cause sits with the landlord, which is why the wording of the contract matters so much.
Can the same tenant return for several seasons?
With care. More than two consecutive temporary contracts between the same parties over the same property means the first is treated as an ordinary home tenancy. A returning guest is welcome, but the pattern of contracts needs planning.
I signed a seasonal contract before 8 October 2026. Is it affected?
Not for its current run. Contracts signed before the decree took effect keep their old regime until the agreed term ends, and are then extinguished without extension. A renewal after that falls under the new rules.
A calmer way to let, with less room for error
For the right apartment and the right owner, letting a season is still one of the most sensible things a property in South Tenerife can do. It is steady, it is fully legal, and it quietly houses the growing number of people who want to spend a few months somewhere the winter is kind. You can see the kind of homes we look after on our stays page.
The difference, after October, is that it rewards being done properly and punishes being done casually. If you are wondering which side of that line your contracts sit on, we are happy to look.
Bart & Steffi
Hermosa Rentals
Last updated: 8 October 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice. It reflects Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, of 6 October, in force since 8 October 2026. Because every property and every tenant is different, have your own situation confirmed before you sign.
Comments