Von Christof Gonzenbach
The government of the Canary Islands has commissioned a legal opinion to examine the legal feasibility of restricting property sales to foreigners. This is despite the fact that two weeks ago, the CC, PP, ASG and AHI parties, which support the Island Council, rejected a motion to this effect tabled by the NC-BC, the group behind the ’20A‘ demonstrations.
What is the government’s aim in doing this? Does it actually plan to ban people from abroad from buying residential property? Or is it rather hoping that the legal opinion will provide a clear argument against this rather anti-foreigner demand from the ’20A‘ activists? The fact is that regulating the property market in a way that is one-sidedly directed against foreigners is incompatible with EU treaties.
On the other hand: if it really is simply a matter of resolving the housing crisis, why doesn’t the Gobierno de Canarias also look into the following measures?
Unfinished building sites could be repurposed or demolished
Firstly: everyone is familiar with them – the derelict building ruins left to crumble away everywhere – an eyesore in any townscape and a waste of usable building space. Here, the political bodies should ensure – if necessary by amending or enacting a relevant law – that such eyesores are expropriated and, under the auspices of a state body responsible for promoting housing construction, either completed or demolished and rebuilt.
On the other hand, the housing shortage – particularly on the major islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria – did not arise overnight, and certainly not solely as a result of legal immigration by foreign nationals. Rather, it is equally due to the gradual exodus from smaller islands such as La Palma or La Gomera to the major urban centres.
It is therefore high time that consideration was given to extending building zones, particularly in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. It should be possible to rezone areas of land that lie fallow, are neglected and are neither used for agriculture nor classified as natural assets worthy of protection from ‚Zona Rural‘ to ‚Zona Urbana‘, where building is permitted.
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