Government again says no to restrictions on sales of homes to foreign buyers

Castells insisted that the motion sought to prioritise residents in home sales and asked President Prohens if she agreed that residents should have priority.

The president replied: "The time has indeed come to think about housing for residents of the Balearics - families, young people, middle-income earners, and workers - after eight years of a left-wing government during which time more luxury homes were built and for more foreign buyers than ever before."

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

She expressed her support for "absolute priority being given to residents" in housing and highlighted government initiatives to address the housing emergency. One of these is the decree for strategic residential projects, requiring proof of residency of at least five years (in a given municipality) to access social housing or limited-price housing.

Prohens pointed out that this minimum five-year period period can be extended by town halls, giving the examples of Esporles and Calvia, where it is seven years, and in Sencelles, where it is ten years.

The Balearic Government, she noted, has the power to prioritise residents' access to public and affordable housing schemes. "But we can't tell families in the Balearics who to sell their homes to."