The PP rejects in the Senate a motion to promote a public housing plan in the Balearic and Canary Islands

PalmThe People's Party (PP) rejected a motion on Tuesday in the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities of the Spanish Senate that sought to launch an extraordinary program for public and affordable housing in the Balearic and Canary Islands. The objective was to reduce the estimated housing deficit of 44,000 units in the Canary Islands and 30,000 in the Balearic Islands. The non-binding initiative was presented by the Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) and the senator for the Pitiusas Islands, and only received the support of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), while the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) abstained. The proponents proposed significantly increasing the housing supply in both territories through the promotion of public housing, the mobilization of vacant homes on the rental market, and the streamlining of urban planning procedures in coordination with the regional governments and municipalities. Furthermore, they intended to establish measures to prioritize access to housing for residents, especially young people, families, and essential workers, and to develop a plan adapted to the territorial, economic, and demographic characteristics of each archipelago. During his speech, the ASG senator argued that access to housing is "one of the most serious, urgent, and structural problems" in the Canary and Balearic Islands, with prices that have exceeded the levels of the housing bubble. In his opinion, the situation jeopardizes social cohesion and the economic sustainability of essential services. The motion incorporated two amendments accepted by the proponents: the first, from the Independent Herreña Group, highlighted the role of the island councils in inter-institutional cooperation on housing matters; The second motion, presented by Jordi Gaseni Blanch (ERC), included mechanisms to control the real estate market in areas with extreme residential pressure, including the possibility of temporarily limiting home purchases by non-residents or investors in housing emergencies. However, the proponents rejected a substitute amendment from the Popular Party's María Salom Coll, which proposed repealing the state housing law, reducing taxes associated with home purchases, and promoting public-private partnerships, arguing that it diverted attention from the realities of the islands. With the Popular Party's opposition and the Socialist Party's abstention, the motion was ultimately rejected and will not reach the Senate floor to address the structural housing deficit in both archipelagos.