PALMA – The left-wing political party Podemos in the Balearic Islands proposes to limit the sale of homes in the Balearic Islands for people who have not lived in the archipelago for at least two years.
The party also demands that the government take the “necessary steps” to acquire the housing stock of the SAREB, known as the “bad bank”, according to Diario de Mallorca. The proposal has already been delivered to its coalition partners in the government pact along with other requests.
Also read: Housing market at highest level since property boom
The purple formation will file motions in all city councils on the island to “guarantee the right to decent and adequate housing”. In addition, the party urges the government to take the “necessary steps” together with the SAREB. This so that its housing stock and arable land become public domain. The party then wants to be able to offer social rent based on this.
Consequences for those who want a second home in the Balearic Islands
This measure could affect tourists interested in acquiring a second home in the Balearic Islands to enjoy during their holidays. Also for companies looking for housing solutions for their temporary staff who have to move to the islands in the summer months, it is becoming more difficult to cover the tourist season.
“Structural problem”
The political formation denounces the difficulty in the islands of accessing a home as a “structural problem” that gets worse every year. The party points to real estate speculation and pressure on housing from tourism as the cause of the problem. This is not only because of the stays of tourists. But also because of the purchase of second homes that are only occupied for a few weeks during the year.
Mallorca as a ‘stress area’ in the new state housing law
In this sense, Podemos also demands that all of Mallorca be declared a stress area in the new state housing law. They want to limit the sale of homes to non-residents. And, furthermore, to be reduced from 10 to 5 to be considered a major homeowner in the Balearic Housing Act.
More than 71,000 houses are empty in the Balearic Islands. According to data from the Ministry of Finance, there are more than 9,000 large homeowners on the islands. That is people who own 10 or more houses.
Access to housing on islands is not guaranteed
Even though access to housing is a constitutional right, that right in the Balearic Islands appears to be “not guaranteed”. Families have to spend up to 50% of their income on housing. In addition, social housing is “apparently insufficient” as it represented 0.3% of the total until only 2021. This is in contrast to the 8,000 people who are on IBAVI’s waiting list to qualify for rental housing.
Also read: The most expensive places to buy property in Spain
