On Tuesday, Palma's councillor for urban planning, Óscar Fidalgo, announced that the town hall has granted thirteen licences for the conversion of commercial premises into homes.
These are conversions envisaged under the provisions of the Balearic government's housing emergency decree. The eventual housing law has yet to be passed, but the licences have been granted nevertheless; the final text of the law won't alter the possibility of converting premises.
Fidalgo said that there had been "many enquiries" and that he had been "surprised" by the level of interest. Even so, there are just thirteen licences for now and two of them are projects that had been requested in 2021 but had been turned down because the necessary legal framework wasn't in place.
The councillor added: "This change of use will allow 13 families to have the possibility of having homes at a limited price." The government's decree is for converted properties which will be 'limited price housing' (the government's term). Prices, either for sale or rent, are determined by government criteria in order to ensure that the homes are affordable.
The town hall established that these conversions can only be in certain areas. There are plenty which are excluded - the historic centre, Es Jonquet, Santa Catalina, El Terreno, Es Molinar, for instance.
In October, Fidalgo estimated that up to 1,500 premises could be "susceptible" to conversion as contemplated by the decree. More licences could of course be granted, although the decree did set a time limit of two years.
In various other municipalities - Manacor, for example - town halls have exercised a right to veto conversions, preferring to maintain a commercial fabric.