The proposal to limit the sale of property to foreigners on the Balearic Islands or Canary Islands was rejected

The Spanish Senate has rejected a motion to limit the sale to non-residents from the Balearics and Canary Islands. 

Votes from the right-wing Vox and PP blocked the measure that was pushed by La Gomera’s socialist party (Asociacion Socialista Gomera).

Confederal was a left-wing group that had been supported by PSOE, Coalicion Canaria and other leftist parties. 

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Confederal reported that the purchase of properties in Canary and Balearic Islands by foreigners is putting unprecedented pressures on the market for real estate, particularly in touristic areas. 

“This causes prices to be very distorted. Locals will not have access to decent housing, while also eroding the social and economic fabric of the island.” 

The senators proposed additional policies that would promote housing accessibility, the recovery of real estate markets, and the priority access for local residents to housing. 

The Canary Islands sought the support of the EU to limit the sale of properties to foreign buyers due to the ‘pressure’ it puts on the archipelago’s ‘social, economic and environmental balance’. 

The Balearic Islands also wanted to engage in negotiations with the EU claiming that they were in a similar position to the Canary Islands. 

Politicians have praised recent steps taken in the right directions, including the abolition and approval of the Ley de Vivienda. 

Balearic representative for Vox, Jorge Campos, has called the measure ‘pure xenophobia’ and accused politicians of ‘avoiding the word foreigner’ to escape such accusations. Meanwhile, PP has blamed the island’s local governments for ‘raising taxes’, ‘adding bureaucracy’, and ‘not doing enough to tackle squatters’. 

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