Now there's a proposal for a fifteen-year residency requirement to buy a home in the Balearics

"Could revolutionise the housing situation on these islands"

Last May's protest for the right to housing in Palma. | Pere Bota

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The latest proposal designed to limit foreign buying of homes in Mallorca and the Balearics has come from Més in Menorca. Spokesperson Josep Castells explains that in areas where a housing emergency is declared, when a home is put up for sale, it should be to individuals with at least fifteen years residency and to those with permanent employment contracts. This fifteen-year stipulation would be effective for the first two years. It would then be reduced to six years. After a further two years it would be eliminated.

"If the law is passed, we will restore the right of the island's citizens to live in their own homes. It seeks to halt the rise in prices resulting from the huge surge in buying by wealthy foreigners," says Castells.

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"We have a proposal on the table that could revolutionise the housing situation on these islands, provided the other parties are committed to making it work." He believes the proposal is "legally grounded" and fully applicable and that it "removes excuses" based on the fact that it may contradict European legislation.

"It's enough to see villages and towns full of empty houses and apartments that are closed all year round, gathering dust and only open for two weeks in the summer, while residents who want to live here can't find a home and are forced to seek their future elsewhere. The streets and businesses are also deserted, which means job losses and businesses closing. In this vote, we will see who is truly on the side of the residents and who is not."

The vote he refers to will be on Tuesday in the Balearic Parliament, where the Més per Menorca proposal will be debated. It has zero chance of being passed. Also up for debate is a proposal from PSOE to limit rent prices. The Partido Popular have already made clear they are against rent caps because they are "interventionist". Spanish law allows regional governments to choose if they want rent caps or not.