The Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Mobility of the Government of the Canary Islands, led by Pablo Rodríguez, has registered in the last year and a half an unprecedented increase in requests for the qualification of subsidized housing. During that period, 56 applications have been received for the qualification of 2,137 protected properties in the archipelago, a significant increase compared to previous years.
The final qualification certificate is a document issued by the Autonomous Community in relation to a housing development, by which its public protection is declared and its legal regime is established, and they receive a subsidy for it. It can be requested by natural or legal persons (public or private), cooperatives or communities of property.
In this sense, in 2021 only 3 applications were received for the qualification of 112 homes; and in 2022, the figure dropped to 2 applications with 78 homes. Data that was increased in 2023 with 14 applications for 414 homes, and in 2024 with 42 requests for 1,723 properties.
Rodríguez has stressed that measures such as the Decree Law of Urgent Measures in housing matters, which promotes the availability of land and the reuse of buildings for residential use, as well as other initiatives aimed at promoting the promotion and construction of protected properties, have been decisive in guaranteeing access to decent housing."
“In fact, this increase in the number of applications and their resolution has been favored by Decree Law 1/2024, which has allowed to speed up the procedures and promote the files for the qualification of these properties in different islands”, he said.
The counselor has highlighted that “the increase in applications and the number of homes qualified since the beginning of this government group reflects the effectiveness of the public policies that we have launched, as well as the promotion of public-private collaboration so that the sector joins efforts with public administrations and, through investment in unfinished assets, for example, a greater number of homes can be put on the market.
“Another modification that has been key to this increase in applications, also included in the decree law, is the update and revaluation of the Basic Canary Module in accordance with the reality of construction costs in the Canary Islands, taking into account the increase in the price of materials in recent years, adapting to the current reality of the market and to each island, to promote the construction of subsidized housing”, he pointed out.
Likewise, he highlighted that “the housing market, practically paralyzed since the real estate crisis of 2008, needed responses and regulatory changes from the public administration, which would allow a return to pre-crisis levels and incentivize the supply of housing".
"Right now we are in the process of approving a second decree law that will include the authorization of third parties to speed up the granting of urban planning licenses, addressing one of the biggest obstacles to the construction of homes, as well as new measures to promote construction”, he added.
Of the applications received for the qualification of subsidized housing during the last year and a half, 37 belonged to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife for a total of 1,234 homes, while in the province of Las Palmas 19 requests were counted, totaling 903 properties.
