Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 1:28pm
Hi Julien, we're doing the same thing as you! We've sold our house in the UK although not yet exchanged and are hoping to be in Lanzarote some time mid-end October. However, we are taking a long term rental for 6 months and will look for a property to buy during that time. Although it is very difficult to find any definitive answer as to whether it is too late to apply for residency before Brexit, from various sources we are quite sure that as long as you are living in Lanzarote i.e. have a permanent rental contract or a property before 31st December you should be able to apply for residency under the current regime.
On this uk government website https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/british-citizens-europe-after-brexit it actually states that 'British citizens who are currently living in the EU, or who move there during the transition period, will need to apply for residence status in the country they are residing in. They will have until at least 30 June 2021 to apply though the exact terms and procedures vary between EU countries'.
We can't get this statement confirmed but I guess it's what we're relying on.
Hope this goes some way to help.
Hazel