The Balearic Parliament has rejected on Tuesday the possibility that the municipalities of the archipelago can request the declaration of areas with a stressed residential market, a figure contemplated in the state housing law that would allow to cap rental prices in municipalities with sharp increases or difficulties of access. The initiative, promoted by the socialist deputy Carol Marqués, has fallen almost in its entirety after obtaining the votes against the PP and Vox.
The motion requested that the Government apply the provisions of state legislation and declare stressed areas in all those municipalities that meet the requirements, in addition to allowing the municipalities that request it to activate this regulation. The Executive, in that case, should accept their request.
Unsuccessful proposals
The text also called for legislation to regulate seasonal and room rentals, as well as to modify the regional housing law to allow the right of first refusal in auctions of entire buildings. It also urged the Government to define objective criteria for selecting tenants for the Build to Rent and Secure Rent programs, to promote an autonomous pact for housing and to present a timetable for the fulfillment of its commitments in housing matters.
Three more points were added to the motion, all of which were also rejected by the House. Among them were that the homes in the Secure Rental program must be rented for a minimum of ten years; that Ibavi act as an intermediary in this program; that the Govern offer public guarantees to owners who rent below the state reference price; and that tax deductions be enabled as long as there are no stressed areas.
The only agreement: accelerate public housing
The only point approved -with the support of the PP and the left-wing parties- was the one that urges the Govern to accelerate the construction of public subsidized housing in the new developments announced in recent months. This aspect concentrates one of the few consensuses in the Chamber regarding the need to increase the public housing stock.
A debate marked by political tension
During the defense of the initiative, the socialist deputy Carol Marqués warned that housing “has become a luxury for a few” and that current prices leave “desperate families” who are considering leaving the Balearic Islands. “Declaring stressed areas is not a whim, but a tool to curb abusive prices,” she said, recalling that “many mayors have requested it.”
From MÉS per Mallorca, Ferran Rosa denounced that “thousands and thousands of people do not make ends meet” because the rent is unaffordable and criticized that the Government “has not taken any measures to protect them”.
The PP defended its rejection. The deputy Margalida Pocoví assured that these measures “do not work”, since -she argued- they cause owners to withdraw their homes from the market, reducing the supply. She also accused the PSIB of not having built the 15,000 subsidized housing units promised during Francina Armengol’s term.
For her part, the spokeswoman for Vox, Manuela Cañadas, said that the Socialist motion “does not seek to provide solutions”, but to “wear down the Govern” and apply “failed models” which, she said, have aggravated the problem in other regions. In her opinion, the key is to “free up land, facilitate private initiative and return to the market the housing that is not available today”.
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