In the Balearics there are an estimated 100,000 empty homes. | Archive

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The Balearic government believes it will be able to provide up to 3,000 empty homes for rent at prices 30% lower than market rates.

The plan, which will be launched in the autumn, will entail small owners offering properties on a voluntary basis with the guarantee of all the rent being paid and the properties being returned in the same good condition as they were when first made available. The government will pay owners the difference between what tenants pay and the market prices.

Tenant applicants will need to have been legally resident in the Balearics for a minimum of five years and be able to show that they have the means to pay the rent. The rented property will have to be the tenant's habitual and permanent home; it cannot be used for another purpose, e.g. holiday rental.

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The property will have to have been empty for at least six months. The scheme is expressly aimed at small owners and excludes large owners, normally as taken as being ten or more properties; banks and investment funds are typically among these large owners.

On Wednesday, the housing minister, Marta Vidal, said: "The objective is to lower the general price by putting more supply on the market." The market price, she explained, will be controlled so that there are no abuses.

The government is opposed to the Spanish law that allows rent caps, Vidal insisting that tension in the rental market is caused by setting price limits.