Ibiza housing: 532 homes prompt resident priority call
Ibiza housing is at the heart of a row over 532 planned homes in Ca n'Escandell, Ibiza. The island's council of mayors wants applicants for the public and affordable-rent homes to prove they have lived on Ibiza for at least 10 years. It has taken the demand to Spain's Ministry of Housing and Casa 47.
The mayors say the homes should first ease the severe struggle to find housing faced by people already living on the island. They argue that it is hard to accept the government recognising Ibiza's housing emergency while opening the scheme to people who do not live there.
Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said during a Thursday visit to Ca n'Escandell that legal residents from anywhere in Spain could apply. No prior preference for Ibiza residents is planned, although successful applicants would then have to register as living on the island.
Eivissa mayor Rafael Triguero has rejected that approach. He said people already hit by Ibiza's housing shortage should not have to compete on the same terms as applicants from elsewhere in Spain.
Vicent Marí, president of the Island Council of Ibiza, said housing policy cannot be separated from the island's population growth. Ibiza's population has almost doubled over recent decades, he said, and building homes for further arrivals would add pressure to housing, land, infrastructure and public services rather than solve the problem for current residents.
Eivissa Town Hall says there is a legal basis for setting a preference. Current Balearic rules require five years of residence in the Balearics immediately before the allocation process begins for publicly owned protected housing. The mayors are seeking a tougher 10-year Ibiza requirement for Ca n'Escandell.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com