STEC DEMANDS THE CANARY ISLANDS GOVERNMENT TO TAKE MEASURES AND REGULATE VACATION RENTALS

STEC fears a "chaos" at the beginning of the school year due to the lack of rental housing for teachers

It denounces that in Lanzarote prices have increased by more than 50 percent and that in mid-June only 17 homes were offered for residential rental on the entire island.

August 23 2017 (14:14 WEST)
STEC fears "chaos" at the start of the school year due to the lack of rental housing for teachers
STEC fears "chaos" at the start of the school year due to the lack of rental housing for teachers

STEC-IC has warned of the problem that the lack of residential rental housing on the islands will pose for the start of the next school year. "With the arrival of September, still in high season for tourism, and with thousands of teachers, doctors, civil servants and professionals of all kinds joining their destinations, it is more than foreseeable that the situation will become chaotic. The problem will be aggravated by the appointments of teachers after that date. All these teachers will encounter great difficulties in finding a place to live and those who find a residence will pay dearly because of the inaction of the Government of the Canary Islands," he warns.

The union extends this problem to almost all the islands, where it considers that hundreds of teachers will be affected, and makes special mention of the case of Lanzarote, where it states that, in addition, the prices of the few homes that are rented have increased by more than 50 percent. In addition, he points out that on this island, "according to the real estate company Don Piso, in the middle of June there were only 17 homes available for rent for residents" throughout Lanzarote. "A figure that is clearly insignificant for its population," he stresses.

For the STEC-IC, "it is time for the Government of the Canary Islands to prioritize the well-being of the Canary Islands residents" and to "regulate the vacation home market", which has skyrocketed prices and taken many houses off the market that were previously rented to residents. "It is not enough to do a botch that pleases some and displeases others, because we already know that these solutions usually end up in court and, judging by what happened with the previous regulation of 2015, it does not seem to have been a good example," he recalls. "In fact, for many experts, we are facing a 'deforestation' of the residential rental market and there are many voices that point to the failed decree of 2015 as the cause of this outrage," the union adds.

For this reason, he defends that "between the jungle of the current deregulation and an orderly market with certain guidelines that avoid the current abuses, there is an enormous space for everyone to be satisfied". 

 

He criticizes that no new homes are planned to be built


On the other hand, he points out that "the new construction of residential housing is also a matter in which the Government of the Canary Islands 'needs to improve'". In this regard, he points out that "compared to a population growth of 13.11% in recent years, new construction housing in the Canary Islands has represented a meager 0.17% of the total housing stock in the same period". In addition, he highlights that "there are cases as notorious as that in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the population growth has been 23%, and yet the Government has no plans for new construction housing".

In the opinion of the STEC-IC, "the above would make sense if the Canary Islands had a regulation like the one that has just been approved in the Balearic Islands, according to which the large 'apartment holders' must transfer them for residential rental when they have been closed for more than two years and there is a need for housing, thus avoiding speculation in the real estate market, because it is absurd that while some cannot find a house to live in, there are hundreds of homes closed because some large speculator is not interested in putting them up for rent or selling them".

In addition, he recalls that "another measure of the Balearic Government is greater control over the use given to Officially Protected Housing". Faced with this situation, the union demands that the Government of the Canary Islands "a fair and clear regulation on all types of housing rental, as well as urgent measures to immediately end" this situation.

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