The general secretary of PSOE of Lanzarote and Deputy in Congress, María Dolores Corujo, has denounced the "absolute failure" of Oswaldo Betancort in housing matters after more than three years at the head of the Cabildo, a period in which "he cannot point to a single new public housing development that has been launched by his management".
“Betancort arrived at the Cabildo promising solutions and, more than three years later, the balance is undeniable: not a single new public housing development promoted by his government. While access to housing has become a real emergency for thousands of families in Lanzarote, his response has been limited to announcements, promises, and propaganda,” Corujo stated.
Corujo recalled that the 201 homes currently being built in Maneje come from the 2020-2025 Housing Plan promoted by the socialist government of Ángel Víctor Torres. “After 26 years of Canary Islands governments presided over by Coalición Canaria without building a single block of public housing in Lanzarote, a socialist government had to arrive to get public housing back on track. Now those who did nothing for decades intend to pose for photos in front of the housing they found promoted,” she pointed out.
Arrecife, "the greatest example of failure"
Corujo has especially highlighted the situation in Arrecife, where 2,084 of the 3,050 applicants for protected housing in Lanzarote were concentrated at the end of 2025. “Two out of every three people waiting for protected housing in Lanzarote are in Arrecife. And faced with this reality, PP and CC have not been able to generate new land to build public housing during this term,” she denounced.
Added to this is the sharp increase in rental prices, which since the beginning of the term has risen by around 40% in the capital.
“Arrecife is the most affected municipality and, however, we have a City Council and a Government of the Canary Islands of PP and CC that do not build enough public housing and also do not want to use the existing tools to curb rents,” she stated.
PP and CC refuse to apply the Housing Law
Corujo has directly accused Coalición Canaria and the Partido Popular of "taking the side of large property owners by refusing to use the tools of the State Law for the Right to Housing". The regulation allows for the declaration of stressed residential market areas and the application of limits on certain new rental contracts, with a particular impact on homes owned by large holders.
Furthermore, the procedure allows municipalities to promote the request to declare a stressed area and for the Government of the Canary Islands to make the corresponding decision.
“They no longer have excuses. There is a law that allows action, there is a procedure, and there is a city like Arrecife where prices have skyrocketed. If the PP and CC do not do it, it is because they do not want to,” Corujo assured.
For the socialist general secretary, “that decision perfectly portrays their model.”
“Between protecting a family that cannot afford 1,000 or 1,200 euros in rent and protecting the interests of large holders and large property owners, the PP and Coalición Canaria have chosen the latter. That is the reality,” she stated.
Corujo pointed out that "that is also the model that Oswaldo Betancort has defended from the Presidency of the Cabildo". “Betancort has adopted the model of Coalición Canaria and the Partido Popular: not building enough public housing, not intervening to curb the rise in rents, and letting the market decide who can afford to continue living in Lanzarote,” she denounced.
The socialist general secretary concluded by recalling that “when the PSOE governed, the first public housing units were launched after 26 years”. “We showed that it could be done. They have returned the counter to zero. And in the meantime, families are paying ever-higher rents and thousands of people are still waiting for public housing. That is Oswaldo Betancort's failure in housing matters.”
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