The Government begins a campaign against overcrowded apartments
Since 2022, 120 homes have been inspected. The sanctions can be serious or very serious with fines of 3,000-30,000 euros
PalmaThe Government has launched a housing inspection campaign focused on combating overcrowding in apartments, substandard housing, and the fraudulent use of protected housing, among other infractions, within the 2026-2027 Housing Inspection Plan. This plan also includes an information campaign to help raise awareness of current regulations and the different types of infractions, the penalties provided for in each case, and the web channel for complaints on the Government portal, which is open to the public to report potential irregularities.
The Government's Minister of Housing, Territory and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, and the Director General of Housing and Architecture, José Francisco Reynés, presented the 2026-2027 Housing Inspection Plan and the lines of action of the Inspection service in this area this Wednesday.
In the 2026-2027 action program, which began this month and runs until December of next year, the plan includes the inspection of protected housing developments across all the Islands: 60 developments in Mallorca, 10 in Ibiza and Formentera, and four developments in Menorca, making a total of 74. Developments located in tourist municipalities will be visited as a priority during the tourist season to prevent illegal holiday offers.
In these actions, contract visas, rental and sale prices, beneficiary requirements, and compliance with the communication of right of first refusal and retraction in the event of a sale are checked. Likewise, the Plan also provides for inspections of a minimum of 10 limited-price homes already registered in the registry.
Overcrowding and substandard housing
On the other hand, the director general explained that overcrowding and substandard housing will be inspected primarily in vacant properties. The former occurs in homes where a number of people reside that exceeds what is determined by the certificate of occupancy, while substandard housing is when different areas of a home are converted into rooms or areas are rented out that are not listed as bedrooms.
The Government, through inspections, has detected cases of substandard housing in storage rooms or premises intended for commercial activity, and cases of overcrowding in homes that have converted the living room into four bedrooms, according to the director general.
The director defended that, during the first six months of the year, 40 inspections have been carried out, more than in the previous five years. In total, since 2022, 120 homes have been inspected. Sanctions can be serious or very serious with fines of 3,000-30,000 euros depending on the severity.
The Government has a complaint channel open on the CAIB website, with which the public has a way to report possible irregularities. This channel can be accessed at the following link: https://www.caib.es/sites/inspecciohabitatges/es/denuncias/.
The housing challenge
The Minister of Housing, Territory and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, has maintained that the Government is "aware" of the challenge that housing poses in the Islands. "We could look back and talk about policies that were never activated, but that is not the Government's brave position," he alleged.
In this sense, he has stated that inspections are "necessary" to monitor the supply of housing and that the social housing stock in the Balearic Islands "fulfills its function." Thus, the campaign plans to defend citizens who fulfill their obligations and pursue those who break the law.