The Local Police of Arrecife activated a special device with about 10 agents to prevent an abandoned building from being occupied in the neighborhood of San Francisco Javier, in Arrecife.
According to a statement from the council, the residents of the neighborhood informed the anti-squatter phone, which has been activated by the council led by the Popular Party and the Canarian Coalition, that about twenty people were trying to settle in this unfinished building. The building, which consists of 14 homes, is unfinished.
According to the City Council, the residents of this building had conveyed to the Local Police "the suspicions or indications" that they might be considering occupying the building, as they had detected "scheduled visits from different people." Thus, it has assured that "the mediation of the agents made it possible for these people to voluntarily leave the houses."
The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, directly responsible for the Local Police, ordered the agents to set up a surveillance device until the houses were walled up by City Council workers. These closing works concluded throughout the past week.
The rental price in Arrecife has skyrocketed by 20%, as reflected in the figures from the real estate portal Idealista in reference to last April. The island of Lanzarote is suffering an unprecedented housing crisis. According to data from the real estate portal Idealista analyzed by Ekonomus, a person needs to earn 33,000 euros net per year to be able to afford a studio of 825 euros on the island. In addition, according to an investigation by Drago Canarias, renting a room in Lanzarote costs more than 500 euros per month.
