The Banc de Temps de Sencelles, a small neighbourhood organisation, managed to bring together 10,000 protestors in Palma on Saturday to protest against the tourist overcrowding on the Balearic Islands and to demand access to "decent housing", proposing that a minimum of five years' residence on the islands is a prerequisite for obtaining it. "This land must be a place where our sons and daughters can grow up in safety and dignity, with controlled tourism that does not determine our whole life", states the manifesto drawn up.
The manifesto outlines seven measures to address tourist overcrowding and ensure affordable housing for residents. These include declaring a "housing emergency" in the Balearic Islands to enable urgent measures in favour of homeownership rights. The organisation also proposes recognising the islands as a "tense zone" to regulate rental prices, approving a moratorium on tourist rentals, providing guarantees to tenants and lessees, and offering aid for housing rehabilitation. These steps are seen as essential to protect the rights of residents against the increasing interest from foreign investors seeking second homes.
Additionally, the Banc de Temps advocates for the "rehousing" of evicted individuals who cannot pay their rent, as stipulated by current legislation. The organisation calls for limiting home purchases by individuals who have not lived on the islands for at least five years and restricting purchases by wealthy buyers. The manifesto, read at the end of the protest in Palma's Paseo del Borne, underscores the necessity of these demands to maintain the Balearic Islands as a vibrant, diverse, and welcoming community. The demonstration garnered international media attention and followed the Balearic government's recent efforts to address the housing crisis through a significant political and social pact.
Founded in 2010, the Banc de Temps de Sencelles promotes the exchange of time, services, skills, and support among neighbors. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated their situation, with neighbors seeking help as their rents doubled or tripled, according to spokesperson Javier Barbero. The Balearic Association of National and International Real Estate Agents (Abini) expressed solidarity with the demonstrators, highlighting the unsustainable pressure of mass tourism and the inaccessibility of housing. Abini noted that the influx of 20 million tourists annually and the requirement of 18 years of salary to purchase a home are untenable.
In the context of the European election campaign, Catalina Cladera, president of the Socialists of Mallorca, emphasized the need for neighborhoods and towns in Mallorca to be livable for residents. She advocated for decisive measures to promote housing access and control sales and rental prices. El Pi's candidate for the European Parliament, Jordi Prunés, echoed these sentiments, warning that it is becoming increasingly difficult to live on the islands. Prunés called for European intervention to reverse the situation, emphasizing the urgent need for measures to support the local population.