Ibiza housing crisis: EU urged to help island families
Ibiza’s housing crisis is pushing working families out and holding young people back, local councillor Javier Torres warns: he wants direct help from the European Union. Torres, a spokesperson for Ciudadanos and Sa Veu des Poble on the council of Sant Joan de Labritja, Ibiza, made his case at the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, his party reported on 14 October 2026. He was one of 120 young elected representatives selected from across the European Union for a European Committee of the Regions programme.
Housing help must reach Ibiza
Torres says limited land, the costs of island life and Ibiza’s separation from the mainland make its housing shortage harder to tackle. He wants European funding tools, low-interest loans for public housing and more room to intervene in the rental market to reach the Balearic Islands.
He pointed to the European Affordable Housing Plan, increased lending from the European Investment Bank and looser state-aid rules for building and renovating public and rental homes. But he warned against designing the measures only for major cities. Residents on Ibiza need them too, he said.
A warning over EU funds
Torres also warned that handing more control of European Union funds to national governments could put planned projects and investment on Ibiza at risk. Local councils, he argued, are the ones that carry out those projects.
For the next European Union budget, he wants funding for islands protected and strengthened. He also wants local authorities to have a binding say and less paperwork for small and medium-sized councils.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com