Almost no one will be able to benefit from the Youth Rental Bonus in Lanzarote according to the rules of the call. Beneficiaries of these aids for people under 35 years of age receive aid equivalent to half of the monthly rent they pay for their rent, but they can only apply if the apartment they rent costs less than 600 euros.
The limit rises to 900 in some municipalities if each autonomous community justifies it. The Canarian executive decided to raise the limit to 900 in Tías, Teguise, Yaiza and San Bartolomé.
Among the 44 apartment listings currently for rent in Lanzarote, according to idealista.com, there are none below 600 euros, so in Arrecife, Haría and Tinajo it would be impossible to get this aid.
In the capital of the island there are currently 16 listings of homes for rent. The cheapest costs 650 euros per month and has 55 square meters, while the most expensive has 100 meters and costs 1,650 euros per month. None fit the 600 euro limit established for the subsidy.
Nor in Haría or Tinajo will it be possible for young people to access the aid in view of the current rental listings. In Haría there are currently two homes available for rent. The first, of 65 meters, requires 950 euros per month, while the second, of 85 meters, asks for 1,731 euros per month.
In Tinajo there is only one listing for a home for rent, of 60 meters, for which 1,500 euros per month is requested. None are below the 600 euros established by the call.
In the Lanzarote municipalities where the limit was raised by the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands to 900 euros, there are only four apartments, which, if rented, a young person could apply for the Youth Rental Bonus aid.
In San Bartolomé, none of the two apartments currently for rent in the municipality fit the 900 euro limit, as they require 1,200 euros per month. Both have an area of 60 square meters.
In Yaiza, only one of the eight apartments available costs less than 900 euros, specifically it costs 875 euros per month and has 83 square meters.
Of the eight apartment listings in the municipality of Tías, there are two below the limit. One for 800 euros and another for 825 euros. The first has 90 square meters and the second 75 meters. Both require a seasonal rental contract like many of the examples in this article.
Of the seven apartments available for rent in the municipality of Teguise, there is only one in Tahíche that is within the limit. It costs 850 euros per month and has 70 square meters.
In Spain only 6% of rentals are below 600 euros
The problem is not limited to Lanzarote. In Spain as a whole, the latest Youth Rental Bonus aid, recently approved by the Council of Ministers, will also reach in a very limited way young people who live in Barcelona, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastián, Vitoria, Bilbao or Pamplona, where the offer below 600 and 900 euros is very scarce or even non-existent.
According to the offer data for the month of October from the real estate portal Fotocasa, only 6% of the housing offer for rent in Spain is below 600 euros and 31% has prices below 900 euros.
Among the cities, Barcelona leads the ranking with 0.1% of the total housing offer for rent at a price lower than 600 euros, followed by Madrid (0.3%), Valencia (0.4%), Santander (0.4%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1.2%), Girona (1.4%) or Bilbao (1.6%). There are even cities where the offer for less than 600 euros is non-existent as in Pamplona, San Sebastián, Palma de Mallorca or Vitoria.
On the other extreme, if we look at the cities that have more availability of rental housing with a price lower than 600 euros, we find Palencia with 55% of the offer that is below this price. Followed by Ciudad Real, in which 52% of the homes are offered at a price below 600 euros. The list of provincial capitals is completed by Jaén (48%), Zamora (37%), Lugo (36%) and Badajoz (30%).
