The European Union is proposing a major change: for the first time, housing is among its priorities for outermost regions like the Canary Islands. This could open the door to curbing mass home purchases by non-resident foreigners.
The European Union seems to finally be taking note of what's happening on the islands. At the last summit held in Reunion (a French territory), Brussels announced that it will change its strategy for the outermost regions, including the Canary Islands. And what's new? For the first time, housing will be seriously discussed as a problem that needs to be addressed.
For years, we've seen houses being bought en masse on our islands, often by foreigners who don't even live here. This has driven up prices and left many locals without options to buy or rent decent housing. Now, with this new European strategy, the door is open to exploring measures that will bring some order to this chaos.
Does this mean that house purchases by foreigners will be restricted tomorrow? No, but it is a first step toward legally doing so. The Canary Islands government has asked Brussels to commission a study to analyze how temporary measures could be implemented, adapted to our situation. It has also shown examples from other places in Europe where similar restrictions have already been implemented.
Furthermore, it has been requested that the European Plan for Affordable Housing include a specific section for the Canary Islands and the rest of the ORs, because building in central Europe is not the same as doing so on an island with limited land and thousands of tourists each year.
In short: Europe is finally starting to talk clearly about housing in the Canary Islands. Now it's time to keep pushing to ensure that everything doesn't remain just fine words and that decisions are made that truly protect those of us who live here year-round. Because one thing is clear: without housing, there is no future for our people.
