IBIZA – The persistent housing deficit, affecting both the rental and buying markets, is exacerbating issues on popular vacation islands like Ibiza, Mallorca, and Formentera. The pressure intensifies during peak tourist season as workers flood the islands to cater to the surge in tourism.
Every summer, numerous individuals relocate to the island, seeking employment opportunities in the tourism sector, including hotels, beach clubs, and other related services. However, with rental prices soaring and the availability of housing plummeting, it’s becoming increasingly challenging for many to find suitable accommodation.
While a handful manage to find refuge on a friend’s sofa, a growing number are resorting to living in vans, cars, or even tents. A poignant photograph taken at the free Es Gorg parking lot in Vila by P.G.R. illustrates the lengths to which some are going to find shelter: a tent occupies a parking space typically meant for cars.
The evocative image, published in the Diario de Ibiza, captures a compact yellow-red tent, seemingly fit for two, positioned neatly between two vehicles on the asphalt. This picture underscores the mounting desperation faced by those searching for a home on the sought-after island. It should also act as a wake-up call for the island’s politicians to prioritise and address the urgent need for more affordable residences.
Related: Spain needs more than a million affordable rental properties
We recently reported on Spaniards across various parts of the country forced into alternative living arrangements, like campers or retrofitted vans, due to the exorbitant costs of traditional housing. “Earning a thousand euros and affording a life in Mallorca is an unrealistic dream,” says Eduardo, 53. Ibiza faces a similar situation. The increasing trend of homes being let out to tourists during summer months further aggravates the dearth of reasonably-priced housing options.
