It occurred to me the other day, while greeting my Mallorcan neighbour with a friendly “Hola,” that they might be just as much to blame for the housing crisis on this island as my English, French, and Danish neighbours, who descend upon us every August and monopolise the parking spaces. How can this poor, innocent Mallorcan be culpable? Simple. He and his family live in Palma for 50 weeks of the year, then retreat to our village for a couple of weeks each summer. The rest of the time? That house stands empty. No contribution to the local economy, no participation in village life—just another vacant property in a place desperate for homes.
Don’t pick on the foreigners!
33% of the island’s houses are second homes or holiday rentals
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6 comments
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RedbaronYou should ask Richard about that. He's a bit of an expert in living here without registering or paying taxes. But eventually, that chicken is going to come home to roost. And don't accuse him of being "European". He doesn't like foreigners much. Especially "illegals". It's one of his triggers.
Well said! Don't forget all those retired Europeans who live here without been registered they don't pay any taxes
Vicki, you forgot to mention the onerous taxes that are applied to the inheritors of certain properties, making accepting the will a non viable proposition. It’s also worth mentioning that a great number of Catholics and prosperous members of Cataluña, in particular Barcelona, fled to Mallorca to escape the reprisals of the left wing government that was in power during those times. The same could be said of those who were living in Menorca. There are always two sides of the same coin.
Well said. Same here in Menorca
All this has been said over and over and it makes sense for the government to takes these properties back but they won't. But there again common sense was never a strong point in Mallorca.
I think, without a doubt, there are pockets of places on the island that are appealing to rich forgien holiday home owners ( Municipality Andratx being one) but as rightly pointed out, the affordable inland town and village housing, is held back by locals or spanish nationals. The problem is that they dont see housing stock the same as is viewed in the UK. Renting out is a chore, selling an inconvenience, extended family will all use a property for a generation. Even a will wont have been drawn up from the deceased.