Tenerife holiday homes ‘abandoned by British tourists’ due to EU rule change

Britons with holiday homes in Tenerife are ‘leaving the island’ due to a post-Brexit rule change. With new regulations meaning British citizens can spend a maximum of 90 days in Spain at a time, some fed-up holidaymakers who used to spend months in the Canary Islands are now selling out.

It comes as tensions between foreign residents and Tenerife locals have increased in recent months. Thousands took to the streets this weekend in a mass protest, demanding a limit on the number of tourists and declaring their beloved islands were “not for sale”.

However, The Express reports that there is already an exodus of Britons splitting their time between Britain and Spain. Lisa Robertson, who runs Jags Bar, a Scottish pub in Playa de las Americas, told the publication: “I know at least four people who have sold their homes here because they can’t get out as often as they used to. Unpleasant.”

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She continued: “There is one couple in particular who spent eight months (in the Canary Islands) and then six months in Scotland. But because they are only allowed to stay for 90 days, they have just sold their holiday home.”

Rising rents on the island, one of the biggest complaints from protesters, have also affected Britons, Lisa said. She added: “I know families of four who have moved into one-bedroom apartments because it is cheaper. They have been living here for years, but the landlords have raised the rent so high that they can no longer afford it.”