The worsening housing crisis on the holiday island of Majorca is spiralling out of control, as priced out residents are now being forced to sleep in tents.
Staggeringly high housing prices to buy or rent in Majorca has been a hot topic in recent months, as well as what authorities intend to do about addressing the issues caused by a shortage of affordable homes. It is becoming increasingly common for large numbers of people to live on the streets in Palma as growing numbers of working residents cannot afford skyrocketing rents.
There is now a situation of “residential exclusion”. Palma has long had issues with homelessness and people suffering from social exclusion, however, according to Marga Plaza, coordinator of the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) social emergency unit: “People affected by residential exclusion are the segment that has grown the most recently.
“Those affected have jobs but the difficulty they have is access to housing, due to its rising cost or the difficulties in meeting increasingly demanding requirements from owners.”
It was reported in July that increasing numbers of low-paid service workers, crucial to the tourism industry, have been forced to live in caravans and makeshift homes as a result of a rising cost of living and increased property prices.
While Palma continues to break records in terms of house pieces, “shanties” are now spreading across the city. One couple is living in a tent in the Nou Llevant district.
A settlement was established there in the summer and there are now fifteen tents sent up.
All these people have jobs, one resident living in a tent said. “We try to be as little of a nuisance as possible,” she explained.
Insufficient government policies are frequently cited as the blame for the crisis. The current government has apportioned blame to the previous government and has launched some initiatives.
However, the housing minister José Luis Mateo warned that creating affordable homes can’t be done overnight.
One approach being undertaken is the freeing of land, whereby municipalities are ceding land for free to the government’s Build to Rent programme that will ensure “limited prices” set by the government.
However, only six of the 53 town halls in Majorca have thus far identified land for the building of 1,800 homes.
What’s more, construction is not expected to start until 2026, according to the housing ministry, due to complicated planning procedures – procedures that the government is reportedly seeking to simplify with its administrative simplification decree.
In September, it was reported that new data shows that only one in three property owners in the Balearic Islands are residents. This means that the vast majority of properties were purchased as a second home.
Much of the housing problem is focused on Palma, the island’s capital, where prices to rent single rooms, not even a whole flat, are extortionate. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, a single room now expects prices of around 600 euros (£502), while a three-bedroom flat costs 1,600 euros (£1,339).
Plaza added: “If there is no prevention, cases become chronic on the streets. If housing prices continue to remain as they are, many more people will have difficulty finding housing. This [residential exclusion] is on the rise.”
So, while reports of investment opportunities for those who can afford them in Majorca are prevalent, others have been reduced to living in a tent on their return from work.