“With the issue of tourist rentals, no one has been more open than us. When I arrived at the Ministry, there were 800 homes that had been inactive for three or four years. We registered them and expanded from 5,000 to 10,000 [homes]. 80,000 tourist places in holiday homes that are now available thanks to this Government.” The person who said this was not a member of the Pact, but the current mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, one of the politicians with the longest careers within the PP ranks and then Minister of Tourism of the executive of José Ramón Bauzá – he was from December 27, 2013, to May 2015, and before that, he had been Director General of Tourism. These statements can be found in the Official Journal of the Plenary Sessions of the Parliament of February 3, 2015.

The tourist pressure on Mallorca continues relentlessly in the middle of high season. Tourist rental homes on the island have already reached a booking rate of 99% for this August, the highest of all coastal areas in the State, according to a study by Rentalia, Idealista's holiday platform.

The Less Tourism, More Life Platform has once again defended that actions directed against illegal tourist rental housing "are not violence", while considering that the effects of the tourism model on the territory and the population are. The collective made this statement in a press release responding to the controversy generated by its Manual of Action Against Touristification, after criticism from the Government, the Spanish government delegation, political parties, tourism sector employers' associations, and social and environmental organizations (including some affiliated with the July 26th demonstration, such as GOB and Terraferida).

MÉS per Palma has attacked this Monday the reform promoted by the PP and Vox Government through the Omnibus Law, which plans to reduce by up to 80% the sanctions imposed for illegal tourist rental if owners incorporate the homes into certain public rental programs.

The plenary session of the Palma City Council has definitively approved this Thursday the modification of the General Plan to extend the prohibition of new tourist rental places. The modification had the favorable vote, although with criticism, from MÉS and the PSIB.

The Consell de Mallorca upholds the Supreme Court (TS) ruling that annuls the state's single registry of tourist rentals, considering that the State lacks the competence to impose this regulation against existing autonomous systems.

The Supreme Court has annulled the single register of short-term leases regulated by Royal Decree 1312/2024, considering that the State does not have the powers to establish an exhaustive regulation of a state register that "overlaps with existing regional registers" regarding housing intended for tourist rental. The decision, which stems from the partial upholding of the appeal filed by the Valencian Generalitat, directly impacts a regulatory framework that also affects the Balearic Islands, where the regulation of tourist housing is part of regional competencies.

The idea of tourist rental emerged with a discourse of collaborative economy that would allow the democratization of income. In validating it, I don't know who the naive leftist was who ignored the voracity of man and capitalism. Over time, housing has been transformed into a financial asset, a professionalized business in which large conglomerates, vulture funds, and any greedy person has sunk their claws.

Javier Burón resorts to a simile to explain the housing problem as a public manager of the matter, with 25 years of experience in different regional governments. "We see how the lava advances and we are sitting on the terrace saying: 'Well, there's time.' When we have the lava on top of us, we'll see what we do.'" Author of the housing problem (Arpa Editors) and managing director of the public company for industrial land, housing, and territorial cohesion of the Government of Navarra, he is participating this Thursday, April 30, in Ca n'Oleo in Palma in a conference organized by the UIB on what is needed to have social and affordable housing.

"It is impossible to put an end to illegal tourist offerings." This is how forceful an inspector from the Consell de Mallorca, who wishes to remain anonymous, is in conversation with ARA Balears. She knows firsthand the work done by the 26 inspectors of this island institution, who monitor both regulated and unregulated offerings. According to this source's account, it is much easier to detect infringements by licensed owners than to penalize those who operate outside the system. "It's not easy at all to prove there's illegal offering," she points out: "They are very clever." In this regard, she warns that, although fines have been toughened, her perception is that "very many procedures expire.

In three years of legislature, the PP has only removed one institutional position for the results of its management: the island councilor for Tourism in Mallorca, Marcial Rodríguez. The reason? His inability to curb illegal tourist rentals and the political wear and tear this caused him. The President of the Government, Marga Prohens, entrusted the island councils with the fight against this activity, but in Mallorca the conflict has become chronic. The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has replaced the person responsible –now Guillem Ginard is in charge of the Ministry– and has pressured Airbnb to remove advertisements for unlicensed properties. But Galmés is heading towards the next elections with this stone still in his shoe.

Coalición por Mallorca will propose through El Pi in the next Consell de Mallorca plenary session that 15 years of residency on the island must be proven to obtain tourist places. It is a formula that, as its spokesperson, Roger Gotarredona, has assured, must "curb speculation".

17,000 euros per night. This is the price that four people must pay if they want to sleep this Maundy Thursday at the tourist accommodation Villa Wave, a property in Ibiza of 280 square meters with five bedrooms, four bathrooms and sea views. The reservation is offered on one of the largest tourist accommodation portals, Booking.com, with a cost of 4,300 euros per person for only 24 hours of stay.

The Consell de Mallorca will relaunch the call for applications to allocate tourist rental units after technical issues forced the cancellation of the previous process. The new call for applications will be voted on next Wednesday at the meeting of the governing board of the Consortium of Tourist Accommodation Exchange (CBAT).

Airbnb has removed the listing for the tourist apartment rented by the PSIB (Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands) from its website to highlight the existence of illegal rentals in Palma. The Tourism Department of the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca) reportedly requested the removal of the listing after a press conference held this Monday at the property by the Secretary General of the PSIB in Palma, Iago Negueruela.

The ban on new tourist rental places in Palm It's now a reality, but it hasn't garnered unanimous praise. The measure, approved by all municipal groups except Vox, has provoked a barrage of criticism from the opposition, who consider it belated, timid, and rather unambitious. Essentially, the specific amendment to the 2023 General Plan sets a ceiling of 4,473 Tourist Accommodation Units (ETH) and prevents this number from increasing, with the intention of gradually reducing it as units become permanently vacated. The reality, according to opposition sources, is that the measure only affects 2% of the units.

The Urban Planning Management of Palm Palma City Council has given the green light this Tuesday to a ban on new tourist rental properties of all types throughout the municipality, through the initial approval of a specific amendment to the 2023 General Plan concerning Tourist Accommodation in Dwellings (ETH). The project, drafted by technicians from the Urban Planning Department, aims to modify various urban planning regulations in order to declare the entire municipality a single zone unsuitable for the commercialization of tourist accommodation.

The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) proposed on Wednesday a ban on tourist rentals of single-family homes and, furthermore, the revocation of licenses already granted. The general secretary of the Palma socialists, Iago Negueruela, presented this measure at a press conference prior to the plenary session of the institution, which will take place this Thursday and which, among other issues, will vote on the matter. Vox's language audit in public libraries.

A lemon tree stands guard in the courtyard of Jaume Gelabert's family home. After his parents died, he bought half of it from his brother and renovated it to return to where he was happy, in the Palma neighborhood of Son Espanyolet. Sitting in front of the tree, he recalls how, during his childhood, neighbors would come to pick lemons, the doors were always open, and "everything was shared." Today, something of that neighborhood life survives in a tall staircase that, through the walls, the owners pass around when they need it. "Why buy more if we have one? Why should everyone have everything?" he argues, advocating for a way of life based on human connection. However, the neighborhood's tranquility was shattered when, starting in 2018, Norwegian businessman Erik Oren bought a dozen houses in the area to transform them into tourist rentals with a capacity for more than 150 people. At that point, two models clashed: that of a community that understands housing as a space for living and belonging; and that of tourism-real estate investment, which sees it as an asset to maximize its profits.