Gillian Keller
HUNDREDS of residents are leaving their homes as rents are rising.
Claims of residents needing assistance in housing rights and rehousing aid have soared, according to local consumer associations.
Demand has risen for affordable long-term housing across the island. The high volume tourist areas of Palma, Calvia and Alcudia are experiencing the most dramatic rental hikes.
“It’s one thing to be just and another to be legal, and even though these practices are not fair, they are legal,” commented spokesperson for the consumer association La Defensa, Bernat Ferrer.
Even three year contracts can legally be raised after they expire, and tenets only have one month to accepts or leave. Rent increases of 30 and 40 percent are unattainable by many middle and lower class residents.
The president of the school of Balearic real estate agents, José María Mir, admits that rents in Palma have increased almost 30 percent in two years.
Ferrer pointed out that sharp increases across the island can backfire on landlords.
“The shortage of rental housing in the market, especially in Palma, means that many tenants are forced to accept prices that they will eventually not be able to pay, and that will mean that they will become ‘delinquent’ and then the owner will be owed for months until they can be thrown out through the courts,” explained Ferrer.
Other effects include families moving far from their communities and jobs, taking what little options they can find in the one month period.
