"They won't move us from here"
Fifty families in Alaior face eviction from their rental apartments following the judicial auction of the building in which they live, after the government decided not to acquire it.
CitadelIn Alaior, 56 families have faced eviction from their rental apartments on Avenida de la Virgen del Toro since the beginning of the year. The developer who built the building has gone bankrupt, leaving a debt of over €12 million. This situation has prompted the Mahón Court to put them up for auction. The tenants fear losing their leases and being forced to leave, but they are resisting. After knocking on every door of the Administration, they are clear that they will not give up. Currently, it is very difficult to find enough rental apartments to live in on the Menorcan real estate market.
The government says it is standing firm because legislation prevents Ibavi from entering into this type of transaction when it involves inhabited apartments. Therefore, all eyes have been on Sareb—the state's "bad bank"—which months ago acquired a similar property in Mahón and is honoring its rents.
Neighbors' opposition
A material error in the auction notice has temporarily halted the court proceedings, but not the concerns of the affected residents, who continue to suffer a situation they consider "unfair." The building's facade is covered with signs. "They won't move us from here," some say. "Against speculation, revolution," a banner on the upper floors reads. "Sareb is ours, their houses, too," reads a first-floor terrace. According to the tenants, "the government has the solution and the money, but not the will." They are demanding an end to speculation and profiteering from housing.
The same controversy arose at the beginning of 2025 in two residential developments on Calle del Pintor Calbó and Calle Maria Lluïsa Serra in Mahon, which Sareb had begun to put on the market at prices higher than those it was charging tenants. Political pressure halted the sale of apartments, especially those occupied by vulnerable people, while they awaited the transfer of the blogs to the new state housing company.
Sareb currently owns 425 homes and 353 annexes in the Balearic Islands, where it also has 64 developments underway. A quarter of these are located in Menorca, where the bad bank manages 102 apartments, 66 of them in Mahón.
The mayor of Alaior, José Luis Benejam, has attempted to mediate with all parties to ensure the continued rental of the 56 families and is experiencing "with uncertainty and concern" the new halt in the process. Although the auction has been suspended, he is holding on to the precedent of Mahón to trust that the resolution will be the same. "Sareb also won that development. With the same ownership, the result cannot be different," he states.
Contacts with the Ministry of Housing have strengthened his conviction that, if Sareb is awarded the contract, the apartments will be transferred to the new State Public Housing and Land Company (SEPES) and the continued existence of the rentals will be guaranteed once they expire. "Sareb assures us that it is absolutely willing to participate in the auction," but it cannot be ruled out that the blog will also spark the interest of other business owners, especially given the fact that "the apartments are auctioned off one by one," says the mayor.
Benejam maintains "constant contact" with the residents and stands "on their side." "We are empathetic and understand the suffering they endure and the injustice they face. They are not squatters, but quite the opposite. They faithfully pay their rent every month and should not have to go through this situation," he argues.
The mayor doesn't want to even think about what would happen if Sareb isn't imposed, since very few affected families would find a home in Menorca. "I'm worried because there really isn't any housing. We've done what we can and a little more, but nothing is guaranteed. That's why we're asking the State to respect current contracts and, when they expire, to be able to renew them." Benejam discussed the matter a few days ago with the new island director of the State in Menorca, Clara Mayans, who is "very sensitive to the situation."
At the initiative of the opposition PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), the City Council has fully committed to issuing the necessary vulnerability reports on affected families with fewer resources to guarantee the continuity of their contracts. The Socialists also demand that the municipal government pressure the Executive to exercise its right of first refusal and redemption. Councilor Mireia Gómez is clear that "families deserve sincere support from the authorities, who must ensure their well-being."
Waiver of the right of first refusal
Housing Minister José Luis Mateo explains that the Catalan government did not exercise its right of first refusal and redemption in the case of the Alaior families because it is not legally permitted to do so. However, the Director General of Housing with the Pact, Eduard Robsy, contradicts him. He cites Article 26 of the law in force since 2018, which grants the government the right of first refusal to acquire transfers between large landowners that have been purchased in judicial proceedings, provided the transactions were carried out after March 6, 2020.
the government to acquire endangered inhabited homes. On December 4, the managing director of Ibavi, Roberto Cayuela, signed a waiver of the right of first refusal on six apartments in Palma and Ferreries, which he was able to purchase for €171,500—approximately €28,583 per apartment—one-tenth of the market price.
In the resolution, Cayuela relies on the agreements of the Ibavi Board of Directors of 2018 and 2021, which, when setting the criteria for the acquisition of homes, do not state that apartments with tenants cannot be purchased, but rather that they will have priority. Furthermore, both developments in Palma and Ferreries meet the conditions of being in the same block, in good condition, and at a price below the market price and of the same Public Housing module set by Ibavi.
The government's resignation favored the company Kadir Real Estados Business SL, a company based in Terrassa (Barcelona), which obtained its property. "It is incomprehensible that, with the opportunity to buy the apartments at these prices, the government does not do so," Robsy criticizes. The expert believes that the Menorca Council should sign the agreement with the government, which, according to law, allows it to exercise the right of first refusal in subsequent cases, even if the administration is not interested. Robsy believes that, in the case of Alaior, if the agreement had already been in force, the current situation could have been avoided.
