Since November 30th, when we presented the new leadership of the Local Committee of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista in Arrecife, we have been demanding the need to deploy policies and actions aimed at alleviating the housing crisis suffered by the residents of Lanzarote, and especially the capital. Initiatives such as increasing municipal aid for rent, evictions, and housing rehabilitation; curbing real estate speculation by limiting land use for tourist housing by modifying the general plan; stopping the purchase of homes by foreigners not residing on the island; or providing tax incentives to owners of empty apartments to put them on the market, have been some of these proposals.
In recent days, we have made public a new proposal regarding access to housing. This would involve containing the uncontrolled increase in rental prices that are making it impossible for people and families with stable jobs on the island to access affordable housing. In other words, we are not talking about people in vulnerable situations who are waiting for public assistance or social housing and who should be treated differently, but rather families, professionals, and young people who have average salaries and who reside or want to reside in Arrecife but, on the contrary, cannot afford the price of rent due to the excessive burden it places on them.
Therefore, from Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista in Arrecife, we are convinced that there is a measure that can bring some order to this price chaos. This is to declare the capital as a "stressed area."
The new state housing law approved last year categorizes "stressed areas" as those where there has been a sustained increase in rental prices in recent years, causing families to bear higher housing costs and consequently losing purchasing power.
To declare an area as "stressed," it must be the case that the average burden of the mortgage or rent, plus expenses and supplies, exceeds 30% of the average income of the tenants; or that the price of rent or purchase has increased three points above the CPI in the last five years prior to its declaration. The decision-making power to declare a "stressed area" lies with the Autonomous Communities, in our case the Government of the Canary Islands of CC and PP.
We believe that Arrecife meets not only one of the two sufficient requirements for such a declaration, but both. The price of rent has risen exponentially in recent years. From being at €9.14 per square meter in March 2020; to being at €11.22 per square meter today. Regarding the effort made by families, according to data from the consultant Atlas Real Estate Analytics, the effort rate of households in Arrecife is 35.72%, practically 6 points above what the law requires.
The declaration of a "stressed area" cannot be in effect for more than 3 years, extendable each year if the situation that gave rise to it continues. This temporary limitation is accompanied by the obligation on the part of the City Council to develop a comprehensive plan of public policies aimed at improving access to housing, either with the provision of land for construction, with purchases of houses, or with aid and incentives. In terms of housing, one measure is not enough; much needs to be done at the same time.
One of the most widespread criticisms from the right towards the declaration of a "stressed area" is that it discourages homeowners from putting their homes up for rent, which provokes fear and rejection among tenants towards policies that are precisely aimed at improving their quality of life, and angers the small homeowner because it interferes with their freedom to set the price they deem appropriate.
For us, these criticisms and intentional fears are unfounded. First, what small homeowner is going to stop having an income due to the temporary freezing of a price increase? And second, tax breaks can reach 90% if the rent price is reduced by at least 5%; 60% if it is a renovated home in the previous two years; and 70% if it is rented to young people between 18 and 35 years old. We all win.
Furthermore, what owner is interested in a society that is economically suffocated and with worse living conditions? Limiting prices until we have a controlled and affordable market again means that residents have more disposable income to consume, invest, or save. With an overload of 40% or 50% in housing-related payments, you can do little or nothing beyond working to live poorly. In addition, owners will have greater security that tenants can meet the monthly rent payment, since this limitation offers certainty to people and families in their medium-term planning of their income and expenses.
The societies that everyone uses as "ideal" to live in are societies in which there is more intervention in the housing market. In Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, and in different parts of the United States, there is direct regulation in the rental market. Perhaps the most notable example, due to the fact that they have managed to keep housing out of the main vital problems of their people, is that of Austria and the Netherlands. In these countries, the success lies in the stock of housing for social rental, which in the Netherlands amounts to 30% and in Austria to 24% (in the case of Vienna it amounts to 60%). In addition to this offer of social rental, they have limitations in the free market that are linked to inflation. Thus, they ensure that the purchasing power of their citizens does not decrease due to high prices and that access to housing is guaranteed for all sectors of the population.
Doing a lot at the same time and using all the tools at our disposal. That is the key and that is what we have been doing since we launched this political project in Arrecife. The housing crisis in which we live requires all political parties, public representatives, and social agents to work in the search for proposals that improve the quality of life of all who live on this island. Housing cannot be a simple financial asset, but rather another element of human rights, of what makes us happy and generates well-being. It is our responsibility to act if we do not want Arrecife and Lanzarote to become more of a postcard than a home.
Sheila Guillén Duarte, spokesperson for the Local Committee of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista in Arrecife.
