The Mallorca Tenants' Union is born with the will to “canalyze social discontent into a tool for legal and political struggle”. As the organization has reported in a statement, the objective is to articulate a collective and organized response to the escalating rental prices and precariousness affecting thousands of people on the island.

The Palma City Council plans to transform the site of the old prison into a new residential complex with more than a hundred endowment homes. The project includes around 130 apartments, with a combination of protected, assisted living, and affordable rental housing.

“To many workers, it’s no longer worth coming to Ibiza”. The one expressing this forcefully is Guadalupe López, general secretary of Services and Consumption for UGT in the Pitiusas, the majority union in hotels. Her offices handle between 15 and 20 daily inquiries from sector workers, most of them asking if they can arrange a leave of absence. “People can no longer come to Ibiza because they can’t find a place to stay, or they can’t afford it, and since they are seasonal permanent workers, they ask how to request a leave of absence,” explains the union representative. According to the hospitality collective agreement, a seasonal permanent worker can take a maximum leave of absence of two years. “In some cases, the worker inquiring has found a better job on the Peninsula; perhaps not as well-paid as in Ibiza, but with a much lower cost of living; in other cases, they simply can’t find a place to stay,” specifies Guadalupe López. The Balearic Islands hospitality collective agreement is “the best in Spain”, according to her, with salaries in any case exceeding 1,700 euros gross for waiters, kitchen staff, or room attendants; salaries that will increase by 4% this year.

4,500 homes intended for residents only in Palma and a similar figure in the rest of the Balearic Islands. These are the forecasts of the Palma City Council and the Government to address the housing emergency suffered by citizens. These measures derive mainly from the legislation promoted by Prohens, based on the promotion of strategic residential projects. This is a figure that the sector considers reasonable, but with a key clarification: the majority of these homes will not be built for another five years.

Ibiza will begin a new tourist season with the eviction of workers who They live in caravansTents and shacks due to the impossibility of accessing housing. Since last July, they have been living precariously in an illegal settlement located between the Palladium Can Misses stadium and the second ring road, the E-20.

HePalma City Council The city has removed some 240 homeless people from the municipal register after initiating a review of the city's resident registry in the last four months of 2025. The handling of the case has sparked considerable controversy because it involves basic rights, especially after the initial explanations of the Councilor for Social Services were called into question. Lourdes Rocawhich even the City Council has contradicted.

"The mayor of Palma will have to answer for any disasters that may follow." building in flood-prone areas"With this warning, Neus Truyol, spokesperson for MÉS per Palma in the Palma City Council, criticized the City Council's strategy on Thursday.eliminate prior authorization from the General Directorate of Water Resources of the Government to expedite the granting of building permits.

None of the people residing in theformer Palma prison ha voluntarily abandoned the property At this time. This was pointed out on Wednesday by the spokesperson for Cort, Mercedes Celeste, when asked about it at the press conference following the municipal government meeting. For now, the number of people who have been notified of the eviction remains at around 170, the same as a week ago. "We continue to inform those who have not yet been notified, but we have no record of anyone saying they want to leave voluntarily," the councilwoman said.

The housing crisis in Mallorca continues to produce listings that highlight the extent to which rental prices have skyrocketed. An ad on the real estate portal Idealista offers a brand-new "studio cabin" in "the heart of nature" for almost 700 euros a month, an offer that illustrates the pressure of the real estate market, even outside major urban centers.

The Balearic Government has described the declaration of Esporles as a stressed housing market as "symbolic," considering it to be outside the City Council's jurisdiction, although it has expressed respect for a decision it views as a political stance. In the press conference following the Governing Council meeting, the spokesperson for the regional government, Antoni Costa, stated that "the declaration of Esporles is purely symbolic" and expressed his opposition to its implementation, considering it a "populist" measure that "doesn't work." It should be recalled that the Esporles City Council plenary session approved a motion this Thursday from the PAS-MÁS per Esporles party to officially declare the municipality as an area with a stressed housing market, in accordance with the criteria established in State Law 12/2023 on the right to housing. The initiative has the support of MÉS per Mallorca, which participated in the process of drafting and promoting the proposal. According to the City Council, the decision responds to an increasingly evident reality: "the sustained and disproportionate increase in rental and purchase prices, the structural shortage of affordable housing, and the excessive financial burden many families must bear to continue living in the municipality." With this self-declaration, the City Council formally acknowledges that Esporles exhibits indicators typical of a strained housing market, in line with Article 18 of Law 12/2023, which defines these areas as having housing costs exceeding 30% of household income or when housing prices have risen. The objective is to protect the right to housing, prevent residential displacement, and "ensure that living in Esporles remains possible for its residents." The motion formally reiterates to the Government that, following the declaration, it must abide by the decision and study the indicators to further support the declaration of Esporles as a strained area. The City Council will also prepare a supplementary municipal report with data on the local residential market and will assess the possibility of filing an administrative or judicial appeal in the event of an express refusal.

The situation of the approximately 200 residents of Palma's former prison was the main topic of discussion at Thursday's Palma City Council meeting. Several people living in the abandoned complex spoke, supported by the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH), to demand a solution before the eviction announced by the City Council takes place. PAH representative Àngela Pons summed up the problem in one sentence: "Will they leave 200 people homeless to build a roundabout?"

Home sales in the Balearic Islands grew by 5% year-on-year in 2015, reaching 14,529 units, according to data published this Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This marks a return to positive growth rates, with a total of 1,104 transactions recorded in December. These sales represent the fourth-highest figure for the month in the region's recorded history. Of the total, 11,522 were market-rate homes; 3,303 were market-rate homes; and 230 were subsidized housing. Compared to the previous month, home sales in the Islands fell by 2.2%.

The Governing Board of Palma City Council (Cort) approved the Sustainable Water Management Plan this Wednesday, the roadmap with which the City Council intends to guarantee the short- and long-term water supply in a context of urban growth and pressure on water resources. The measure comes at a time when the viability of supplying the 46,000 new homes planned for the city over the next decade is being questioned, and amid technical warnings about the current limitations of the water system. The document, promoted by the City Council and implemented primarily through Emaya (the municipal water company), proposes a series of investments and measures to increase water availability and reduce losses. Among the key actions are: the future desalination plantThe plan includes improved aquifer management; pipeline renewal to minimize losses; and enhanced treatment and storage capacity, with plans to expand treatment capacity to 90,000 cubic meters per day with the new WWTP II. The plan is structured in three main sections. The first is a diagnostic analysis of Palma's urban and population context, an evaluation of available resources—aquifers, desalination, reservoirs, and reclaimed water—and a projection of future demand. It is at this point that experts warn that the residential growth scenario necessitates prudent planning and the securing of new water sources before authorizing certain developments. "It doesn't add up. To begin with, we must remember that the Hydrological Plan mandates reducing the use of underground aquifers by 80% to protect them, something that is neither being done nor taken into account," says Cels García, Professor of Geography at the University of the Balearic Islands.

Upon hearing the word 'mafias', Joana (a fictitious name), a woman who lives in the old prison of Palma For almost four years now, her face has been a mess. She gets nervous and says she knows nothing. "Here, to live well, you have to be like a monkey: see, hear, and keep quiet." She repeats it over and over: "My health isn't good, I never leave my house; I don't see anything and I don't know anything." She's afraid. In fact, she agrees to tell her story in a bar, far from the prison, so that no one will know—or sense—that she's talking about this with anyone.

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.

Only about twenty of the 139 apartments in Menorca advertised on the Idealista portal are for residential rental. The lowest price is 960 euros per month. This amount is beyond the reach of most people, leading many separated individuals to move back in with their parents and younger people to delay leaving home. Access to housing has become virtually impossible for the resident population, with the government at all levels unable to provide a solution. With the People's Party (PP) having ruled out declaring the real estate market under pressure and intervening in prices, the most visible public efforts are focused on advancing Ibavi (Balearic Housing Institute) projects to guarantee decent housing for the poorest sectors of society. Currently, more than one hundred apartments are under construction, distributed across developments in five municipalities on the island. The Menorca Island Council has also allocated 1.5 million euros in the 2026 budget to acquire land to promote new social housing projects. The PSOE, from the opposition, had requested an allocation of 10 million euros. Amidst all this, island society is mobilizing with different initiatives to demand solutions and propose them independently of institutions and the political class. Every morning, a few activists from the Platform for Dignified Housing demonstrate at the doors of the Island Council headquarters in Mahón to demand that the State expand social safety net measures regarding housing to address the housing emergency. Otherwise, they say, rising prices, unaffordable rents, and the almost nonexistent supply make the situation untenable.

When he arrived in 2007, the group of friends was divided between those from eight Mallorcan lineages, with a home secured by inheritance, and those of us who were children of outsiders, who only we could inherit our parents' mortgageIn my group of friends, it was an axiom.

Organized youth groups in Mallorca will unite in a youth bloc for the Diada (National Day of Mallorca) on December 31st. More than 25 youth organizations of all kinds, from the Part Forana (rural areas) and Palma, linked to the cultural and political spheres, will participate. They are calling for a gathering on December 30th at 6 pm on the Passeig del Born. The blog's spokesperson, Josep Buades, emphasized the importance of the Diada, which "commemorates our birth as a people" and "cannot be replaced or distorted." The youth bloc believes that the Diada should be a "day of demanding a dignified future for this land and the people who live on it." The spokesperson highlighted the importance of the island's own language: "Public authorities must do everything necessary to ensure that Catalan once again becomes a language of social cohesion among Mallorcans of all backgrounds." Housing is also a central theme of the demonstration. According to a study by the Balearic Islands Youth Council, nine out of ten young people are unable to move out on their own. The blog argues that homes should be "for living in, not for making a profit." Regarding tourism, they believe the island should be "livable, not just for visiting," and advocate for "a change in the tourism, economic, and social model." Finally, they emphasized that December 31st "is a Diada for everyone, for all the people of Mallorca," and called for participation in the demonstration, especially among the island's youth.

The Urban Leases Law (LAU) decreed in March 2019 that rental contracts would be extended from three to five years. Now that thousands of contracts are expiring, the situation has worsened compared to five years ago: the price of housing as a speculative asset continues to rise, fueled by demand far exceeding supply. According to figures from the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, island tenants whose contracts end at that time will face a rent increase of €4,615 per year. This increase adds to an already unsustainable situation for many families: the average rent in the Balearic Islands exceeds €1,500, the second highest in Spain after Barcelona. Experts consulted by ARA Balears warn of an increase in legal proceedings stemming not from non-payment of rent, but from the termination of these agreements. "The cases are becoming more and more numerous. The landlord wants to rent at a higher price or sell, and the tenant won't leave because they have nowhere else to go. Evictions are being initiated for this reason," says Natalia Bueno, vice president of the Balearic Islands Association of Real Estate Agents (API). "Some landlords even offer a sum of money to get tenants to leave the apartment, but the response is always the same. They tell you that 2,000 or 3,000 euros, for example, isn't going to solve anything," Bueno explains regarding a deterrent practice previously limited to occupied properties.

The central government's delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, called for "consensus" and championed "major agreements" in the face of challenges that "affect everyone, such as housing," during his speech at the institutional event for Constitution Day, held this Saturday at the Almudaina Palace in Palma. The main authorities of the Islands attended the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Constitution. Rodríguez Badal recalled that this year marks 50 years since the death of dictator Francisco Franco, which ushered in "a time of hope and optimism" thanks to the "courage" and "common sense" of all those who faced "an enormous challenge." He defended the Constitution as "a tool destined to endure" and "the key" to leaving behind "a period of darkness" and moving towards "a modern country."