Podemos announced this Friday that it will take the Canary Islands government to court if it does not declare housing tension zones on the islands to be able to limit rental prices, after verifying that in six municipalities there are already more tourist beds than residents.
In a statement, Podemos specifically urges that declaration for the municipalities where this circumstance is occurring: Adeje, in Tenerife; Mogán and San Bartolomé de Tirajana, in Gran Canaria; Yaiza and Tías, in Lanzarote; and Pájara, in FuerteventuraIn their opinion, the data presented by these six Canary Islands municipalities "confirm the systematic expulsion of residents due to an unlimited tourism model" and should lead to the application of the measures provided for in the Housing Law"In Yaiza, for example, there are already more than 62 tourist beds per 100 people, a figure that illustrates an urban model based on economic turnover and not on the right to inhabit. This holiday saturation is evidence of the lack of control and planning that favors speculative funds and expels those who sustain the neighborhoods: teachers, healthcare workers, cleaning staff, or local shopkeepers," argues Podemos
The party's general secretary in the Canary Islands, MP Noemí Santana, acknowledges that "tourism can be a source of wealth," but demands that "it cannot devour everything."
"If we allow housing to become a financial product, what is expelled is not just people, but also the very possibility of having a community," he addsSantana also assures that Podemos "proposes a concrete roadmap to progressively convert tourist housing into habitual residences," through tax incentives for voluntary conversion, penalties for vacant housing in areas of high demand, and clauses that mandate long-term rentals in certain cases.In addition, they are committed to providing municipalities with tools to zone land use and "curb speculation," as permitted by the 2023 State Housing Law and the Vacation Housing Law that the Canary Islands Parliament is about to approve.
Uncontrolled Growth of Vacation Homes
"80% of housing growth in the Canary Islands in recent years has occurred in tourist-use homes, not hotels. This expansion coincides with a record increase in residential rental prices, which already consume more than 55% of the average salary of people on the islands," denounces PodemosIts leader in the Canary Islands wonders, in fact, "what doctor, what teacher, or what waiter will be able to live on the islands if everything is on Airbnb," because he considers it an "uncomfortable but urgent" issue.
