Miquel Rosselló is from Puerto Pollensa. A graduate in law and political science, he has published a thesis entitled 'Touristified City and Residential Segregation'. Of Puerto Pollensa, he says that he had to move away, as did friends of his age, because homes had become unaffordable; he currently lives in Barcelona. "It's the consequence of an economic model that has prevailed in my town, where tourist rentals predominate and have ended up removing the opportunity for new generations to live in their place of birth."
While he has his experience of Puerto Pollensa, his thesis focuses on Palma. In his view: "Low-quality tourism entails making residents feel more vulnerable, while high-quality tourism opts for second homes, which makes life more expensive for residents and expels them because land and housing becomes highly speculative."
He has analysed different waves of tourism that have affected Palma. There is a fourth wave, what he terms the postmodern tourism boom. "It focuses on bungalows and small beaches and coves with bucolic sunsets, just like an Estrella Damm advert. Gone are the times of the first boom, when tourists stayed in tourist destinations that are now mature, such as Arenal or Magalluf. Later it expanded to the centre of Palma and now it is in the villages of the Tramuntana. Speculation for where there was no tourism is expanding in a massive way."
Residents of Arenal, he points out, are now a more vulnerable population. "There is not even a supermarket open because it is a ghost town in winter. They've been asking for years to redevelop Plaça dels Nins, and that has been postponed for as many years."
In parts of the city where tourism is introduced, housing becomes a speculative asset. "It happened in the centre and now it is accelerating away from the centre. It is more profitable to rent to a foreigner than to a resident."
This dynamic has caused housing prices in the municipality to skyrocket in recent years, so more and more families, including the middle class, can be forced into desperate measures. "We might think that the problem of slums has disappeared, but that's not the case. Now there are people hiding in the basements of Palma. This is the invisible population."
Current tourist effects include the expulsion of residents and the vulnerability and abandonment of areas such as Playa de Palma and Magalluf. He advocates supporting local commerce in promoting neighbourhoods as well as putting a cap on rent prices and limiting the purchase of second homes by non-residents.
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Richard PearsonAnother thing Richard, my last name is Spanish.....
Richard PearsonRichard I have never owned a property in Mallorca, I have rented in 3 different pueblos, and all from Mallorquin owners. By the way, I am a Spanish citizen.
camila culverrYeah Camila, don't we all miss the good old 1970's 🙈
For someone who is "educated", his views are a bit basic and not thought out. Sounds like he is a bit of a loser.
Ulla JacksonOr were you ultimately referring to “So the law needs changing to make people with properties feel the law it's on their side” which you wrote below, and seems to contradict what Camila has been, I think, trying to say ?.
Ulla JacksonI would also like to ask about what are you and Camila, both with foreign surnames, doing in Mallorca, occupying properties that could better be used, probably more cheaply, by the local population.
Ulla JacksonAre you referring to Camila’s “nightmare clients” and the “notorious estate agent piranhas” ?
camila culverrCamila, I’m not disputing that the ‘ley de viviendas’ has improved tenants’ rights, quite the opposite; it has improved them to the point where the landlords have virtually no rights which has led to many taking the decision that, on balance, the risk / possible inconvenience are not worth taking so have withdrawn their properties from the rental market. So whilst, in theory, the law should be good for tenants, what’s happened in practice (as I mentioned in my first comment), is that there are now fewer properties available which has caused the sharp increase in rental prices. There is no question that the benefits for a tenant have been greatly enhanced, but that’s only any use if they can actually find a property to rent at an affordable price. There has to be balance that is fair, both for the tenant and the landlord. One area that is impossible to balance is the automatic right to extend the contract to 5 years. Having rented here for many years in the past, I totally understand that a tenant wants the security in knowing that they won’t have to keep moving house every year or two, but there is a flip-side; if a landlord’s circumstances should change during the rental term and, perhaps, he needs to sell the property, he can’t (unless he sells it with the tenant remaining until the end of the contract which reduces its desirability). I believe the only grounds for terminating a contract early, apart from breach of contract by the tenant, is if the landlord needs the property for himself or a close member of family to live in. Finally, I am absolutely NOT advocating more AirBNB rentals. They have caused a housing crisis, not just here but globally. There are many holiday destinations in the U.K. suffering an even more serious problem than we have here.
Sure, nothing to do with the 50,000 Moroccans .allorca has invited in during the past 10 years, or the Brazilian, Colombian and Venezuelan economic migrants These guys couldn't possible be competing for these very same homes and public services, schools and medical facilities. Must be the 2nd home owner s with their private medical insurance, with their net positive contribution to the economy,with their generous investment in Mallorca
Richard PearsonAlways someone else's fault.