Mallorca homes: EU route opens for second-home curbs
Mallorca home buyers who do not live in the Balearics could eventually face limits on purchases, but there is no legal basis for restrictions yet. At the Parliament in Palma on Tuesday, 15 September, regional president Marga Prohens said her government would examine and use any effective European Union measure that puts people from the islands first. The European Commission has opened a possible route, she said, for curbs on purchases by non-residents and on second homes.
Prohens said the path had only just opened and that the proposed restrictions currently lacked legal cover. The Balearic Government would keep a close watch on the process.
Pressure over the housing squeeze
Lluís Apesteguia of MÉS per Mallorca said the time for studying options had passed. He said one in three homes is bought by someone who does not live on the islands, excluding companies, vulture funds and investment funds.
He also said 29 per cent of the population is at risk of housing exclusion, while 60 per cent of tenants spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. Apesteguia urged Prohens to side with the public rather than speculators.
Josep Castells of Més per Menorca questioned whether the government truly intended to study or apply the measures. PSIB spokesman Iago Negueruela accused the government of failing to act for ideological reasons and said a People’s Party MEP had already indicated the proposal would be blocked.
Government hits back
Prohens accused the left of proposing measures in recent years that could not be applied. She said the legal framework had only now begun to open up.
She also criticised the PSIB for voting against the housing emergency declared by the regional government.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com