The PP refuses to limit the purchase of second homes to Balearic residents: "It is not credible that MÉS supports it"

PalmaThe PP closed the door this Monday to limiting the purchase of second homes in the Balearic Islands. Although the Government said last Friday that it would "evaluate" the affordable housing bill proposal from the European Commission, the spokesperson for the popular parliamentary group, Sebastià Sagreras, has already warned three days later that they do not look favorably upon this measure, one of those proposed in the text. "We will study the scope of the measures, but I am already telling you that it is not even credible that MÉS per Mallorca could support it, because they would lose part of their electorate," said the popular party member at the press conference following the Board of Spokespersons at the Parliament.

"It doesn't fit in my head that a resident of Campos cannot have a second home in La Ràpita, or that someone from Ses Salines or Montuïri cannot buy one in the Colònia de Sant Jordi," opined Sagreras. The spokesperson made these statements, asserting that he was "shaken" by the fact that MÉS per Mallorca said it will re-present the bill to limit the purchase of homes by non-residents following the initiative from Brussels, which is just beginning its legislative process.

The spokesperson for the eco-sovereigntists, Lluís Apesteguia, considered that the Commission's proposal adds to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and demonstrates that "exceptions to the free movement of capital" can be applied. Therefore, they will bring back a bill similar to the one they presented in 2024, which the PP and Vox struck down during the parliamentary process. "We have lost years because the right, and at the time the PSOE, did not want to face this problem," he lamented: "The Islands have become a giant Monopoly board where large international investors buy and sell without, surely, being able to locate Mallorca on a map."

The PSIB spokesperson in Parliament, Iago Negueruela, also spoke on the matter. In the next plenary session, the party will question the president, Marga Prohens, about her refusal to apply the state Housing Law and declare the Islands as a stressed zone. "European regulations speak of limiting the purchase of second homes and declaring stressed zones," he said: "I don't understand how they can say they will study it if they don't want to apply the minimum, which is to declare stressed zones."

The European Commission's proposal suggests limiting the purchase of second homes in particularly stressed areas, but it does not distinguish between residents and other Europeans. However, Apesteguia said that they view the initiative favorably and that the only way to limit purchases by non-residents in Europe is to do so for all citizens, both Balearic and European. "We have to adjust to the European framework, which says that no distinctions can be made between nationals of the European Union," he explained: "If you don't respect that, the law lasts two seconds in court."

The housing crisis affects the entire EU

It is the first time that Brussels is supporting, on a European scale, the possibility of restricting the purchase or rental of apartments to favor their use as primary residences. The housing law that must subsequently be processed in the European Parliament also proposes measures so that territories and states can limit the rental of tourist apartments. The June 2025 Eurobarometer found that 40% of Europeans consider affordable housing an immediate and urgent problem, and this percentage rises to 51% in cities. In the last ten years, the purchase price has risen on average by more than 60% and the rental price by 20% across the European Union as a whole. While one million Europeans are homeless, 20% of the housing stock in EU territory is empty.