Mallorca housing squeeze: Ara Més targets speculation

Mallorca’s housing squeeze is driving Ara Més to demand action against speculative property buying. On 24 September, the federation tabled proposals in the Balearic Parliament and the Spanish Congress to keep homes for living in. It says measures must fit each island and put the needs of local people first.

Ara Més, made up of MÉS per Mallorca, Més per Menorca and Ara Eivissa, says speculation, tourism pressure and competition from other uses of housing are making it harder to find a home. It says thousands cannot afford rent, cannot move out on their own, struggle to reach the end of the month or live in substandard housing.

Madrid eviction sharpens the call

The moves came a day after the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid flat, where she had lived for 70 years. Ara Més said Maricarmen’s case showed a system in which property speculation had been put ahead of people’s rights.

The federation also pointed to the case of Olga the previous week. It says these are not isolated cases, but part of a wider housing emergency across the territories.

Calls for public homes and eviction protection

Ara Més accused regional governments of failing to use their housing powers and said Spain’s central government was not providing real answers. It wants the Ministry of Housing and the wider central government to strengthen protection for vulnerable people facing eviction, curb speculative practices and expand public housing.

In the Balearic Islands, it wants applications to declare pressured residential-market areas assessed and processed. It also called for policies that give local people access to decent housing, while criticising what it called the far right’s “anti-social belligerence” and a lack of courage from the PSOE.

Topics: Housing · Tourism · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com