Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista in Arrecife has defended affordable rental and purchase housing against the "free bar" and real estate "unprotection" policy that it accuses the Arrecife government group of, led by the Partido Popular (PP) and Coalición Canaria (CC).
For the spokesperson of NC-BC in Arrecife, Sheila Guillén, "the meager housing policy that the municipal government bloc is carrying out is based on giving a free bar of licenses to private real estate developers without ensuring that these new homes will not increase the real estate bubble that already exists in Arrecife, with rental and purchase prices unattainable for the social majority."
"The government group beats its chest every time they approve a few licenses, but they do not say that with total certainty these will be destined for the free market modality without price caps," comments Guillén, who considers that "if public institutions do not shield housing policy from real estate speculation, the problem will be increasingly greater and we will not be able to control it."
From the Canarian organization, they are committed to prioritizing access to affordable housing for citizens who live in Arrecife and Lanzarote, guaranteeing them "human" conditions where they can develop their personal and family life in a dignified manner. To do this, they propose that the City Council incentivize and promote the promotion of new homes free from real estate speculation.
"We must say no to real estate speculators and holders who want to make Arrecife an uninhabitable place for the people of Lanzarote. We need a municipal government group that is tough on the rich and that is on the side of the residents of the capital who cannot build a dignified life due to lack of housing," demands the spokesperson.
NC-BC continues to demand that Arrecife request the declaration of a Stressed Residential Market Zone from the Government of the Canary Islands, which would temporarily put caps on rental prices and which has led to, for example, in Catalonia, a decrease of up to 6 percent in the price of housing.
"The Arrecife City Council is not doing even 1% of what it can do in terms of housing. They have been announcing the chocolate of the parrot of the 200 homes in Maneje for six years; but they do not address the underlying problems that the capital maintains with more than 3,000 empty homes in the hands of large real estate holders, the lack of public housing and the proliferation of vacation homes," recalls Sheila Guillén, who considers it necessary to "assure the owners of empty homes that putting these on the affordable rental market will generate benefits and protection of the property."
"We have proposed a safe rental plan where public institutions act as intermediaries between the tenant and the owner, ensuring the latter the payment and conservation of the property. This is what the Basques and Navarrese have been doing for decades, with positive results," says Sheila Guillén.
