The PSOE of Lanzarote has denounced that the island has already reached 11,083 vacation homes, according to data from the Canary Islands Government itself, which represents an increase of more than 115% since June 2023, when around 5,198 were counted, coinciding with the start of Oswaldo Betancort's term in the Cabildo of Lanzarote and Fernando Clavijo's term in the Canary Islands Government.
The island secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote, María Dolores Corujo, has been blunt: "Today in Lanzarote it's not just that housing is expensive, it doesn't exist. Since Betancort and Clavijo have been in power, finding a home has become impossible for most people who live and work here."
"In just a year and a half, we have gone from just over 5,000 to more than 11,000 vacation homes. This growth is not accidental; it is a response to a pull effect generated by the announcement of a law without a moratorium and without limits, while deliberately refraining from applying the Housing Law to curb rental prices," Corujo stated
The socialist leader has accused Coalición Canaria of "putting up a 'for rent' sign on all of Lanzarote," prioritizing the tourism business over the right to housing for the resident population. "They have allowed the market to run wild, and today the families, young people, and workers of this island are paying for it," she added.
Corujo has been particularly critical of the Lanzarote Island Council's attitude, which recently boasted about having removed around 800 vacation homes from the market. "It's shameless to brag about 800 fewer when, under their management, almost 6,000 new vacation homes have entered. That is the real balance of their policy," she emphasized"Fudging the numbers doesn't change reality: Lanzarote is experiencing the worst housing crisis in its recent history, with unaffordable rents, residents being pushed out of their neighborhoods, and young people unable to become independent," warned the island secretaryLikewise, Corujo recalled that the Canary Islands Government "refuses to declare tense areas, refuses to intervene in prices, and refuses to adopt protection measures for the resident population," leaving access to housing in the hands of the market"The result of your model is an island that is increasingly inaccessible to its own people," Corujo concluded. "Housing is a right, not an unlimited business. Faced with this unjust model, you will find the PSOE of Lanzarote in front of you, defending the right to live on our island."
