The PSOE of Lanzarote has denounced that the refusal of the Government of the Canary Islands to declare tense residential market areas leaves the island out of the new state aid endowed with 90 million euros intended precisely for territories where access to housing has become a serious problem for the population.
The general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote and Deputy in Congress, María Dolores Corujo, has pointed directly to the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, for "turning their backs on a reality that they know perfectly well and that thousands of people in Lanzarote suffer every day".
“While Clavijo and Betancort refuse to declare tense areas, in Lanzarote we have rents that easily exceed 1,000 euros and a significant portion of the available offer is already moving between 1,100 and 1,800 euros per month. We have families who are forced to share housing, workers who rent a room because they cannot afford a whole house, and young people who, despite having employment, cannot become independent,” denounced Corujo.
The socialist leader has warned that this situation "no longer affects only people with few resources". “We are talking about families with two salaries who have enormous difficulties paying for housing, professionals who arrive in Lanzarote and cannot find a place to live, and people born here who are beginning to consider leaving because their own island has become inaccessible to them,” she stated.
The Government of Spain has proposed allocating an additional 90 million euros to the autonomous communities that have declared tense residential market areas, resources intended to "increase the supply of affordable housing, promote and build public housing, rehabilitate properties, and reinforce the aid contemplated in the State Housing Plan".
These funds will benefit territories in Catalonia, Euskadi, Navarra, Galicia, and Asturias, which have used the instruments provided for in the State Housing Law. The Canary Islands are left out because the Executive chaired by Fernando Clavijo continues to refuse to declare tense areas. “The most serious thing is that Lanzarote more than meets the reality that demands action,” Corujo pointed out.
More than a 110% increase in holiday rentals
The PSOE of Lanzarote also considers that the governments of Fernando Clavijo and Oswaldo Betancort "have direct responsibility in the worsening of the housing situation on the island during this term".
Corujo recalled that since the beginning of the current term, the number of vacation homes registered in Lanzarote went from around 5,200 in June 2023 to more than 11,000, representing a growth of over 110%.
“The Clavijo Government announced a law to regulate vacation rentals without first establishing a moratorium to stop new registrations. The result was a huge pull effect: thousands of homes were incorporated into vacation rentals before the new regulation came into force. And Lanzarote has been one of the islands that has suffered the consequences most severely,” Corujo stated.
“Clavijo has not only refused to use the Housing Law to try to contain prices in the most affected areas, but his management of vacation rentals caused a race to register new VVs. After causing that pull effect, he is now renouncing a tool that would allow Lanzarote to receive more resources for housing. It is irresponsible,” he affirmed.
Corujo also questioned Oswaldo Betancort's position, whom he accuses of "defending his party's interests before Lanzarote's interests". "Oswaldo Betancort should be demanding from Clavijo the declaration of stressed areas for Lanzarote and claiming all possible resources to face the housing emergency. However, he prefers to look the other way while the island loses opportunities and funding,” he added.
The PSOE recalls that the situation in the Lanzarote residential market has deteriorated to the point where a large part of the homes offered for rent are intended solely for seasonal use, further reducing the possibilities of finding a stable home.
“There are people jumping from one home to another every few months because they only find temporary rentals. There are families sharing houses because they cannot afford 1,200 or 1,500 euros a month on their own. There are workers who dedicate a good part of their salary solely to having a roof over their heads. That is the real Lanzarote that Clavijo and Betancort refuse to acknowledge,” Corujo emphasized.
The socialist general secretary has concluded by demanding that the Government of the Canary Islands "abandon its refusal to apply the instruments of the Housing Law and allow Lanzarote to benefit from the measures and resources intended for territories with greater difficulties in accessing housing".
“Every time Clavijo refuses to declare stressed areas, he is not punishing the Government of Spain or the PSOE. He is harming the people of Lanzarote. He is leaving out of aid and tools those who pay 1,200 euros in rent, those who share housing because they cannot afford it alone, and those who are being expelled from their own island. Oswaldo Betancort cannot continue to be an accomplice with his silence,” Corujo concluded.
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