Lawmakers within the Balearic Islands plan to launch a crackdown on overseas property hunters and vacation leases amid hovering costs.
Lawmakers within the Balearic Islands plan to launch a crackdown on overseas property hunters (Picture: Getty)
Brits hoping to purchase property on one of many idyllic Balearic Islands may quickly face a ban as native politicians transfer to deal with hovering costs and a scarcity of housing for residents. Lawmakers in Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are getting ready to debate a controversial proposal from the left-wing Més per Mallorca occasion that will ban non-residents from shopping for property except they’ve lived on the islands for at the least 5 years.
The plan is aimed toward overseas consumers – together with many Brits – who critics say have helped push properties out of attain for locals and younger individuals. Authorities information reveals round 90,000 properties within the Balearic archipelago are owned by non-Spaniards – about 16% of the housing inventory. Brits have been particularly energetic, with roughly 12,000 properties purchased throughout Spain in 2024, in keeping with property portal Idealista.
Quick-term leases have been blamed for eradicating properties from the long-term market (Picture: Getty)
“We’ve got to prioritise the homes which are for residing in,” Més per Mallorca MP Lluis Apesteguia instructed the Day by day Mail. “Not for individuals who wish to speculate and proceed with this sport of Monopoly.”
The regional authorities is cracking down on short-term vacation leases, which have been blamed for eradicating properties from the long-term market. Councils have sharply restricted licences in hotspots like Palma, Ibiza City and Magaluf, whereas new vacationer rental licences in Palma are actually banned altogether.
Homeowners should now register properties earlier than providing them as short-term lets or face fines as much as €500,000 (£437,000) for unauthorised leases, in a bid to scale back overtourism and ease rental pressures.
The proposal now heads to debate within the Balearic Parliament, the place its supporters argue it should prioritise residents over speculators, whereas opponents warn it may chill funding and face authorized hurdles.
This comes as Spain as an entire steps up a nationwide housing crackdown, with authorities forcing tens of hundreds of unlicensed vacation lets off platforms and cities tightening rental and buy guidelines to chill spiralling prices. In a dramatic flip final yr, Barcelona gained court docket backing to part out all quick‑time period vacation leases by 2028, successfully banning Airbnb‑type lets to unlock hundreds of properties for residents and fight its personal housing scarcity.
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