The Balearic Government announced on Monday that its Safe Rental programme will be launched in November.
Designed to get more properties onto the rental market, the government aims to have at least an additional 2,000 properties for rent in Mallorca and Menorca plus 1,470 in Ibiza and Formentera. The maximum monthly rent in Mallorca will be 1,050 euros.
This will be the price paid by tenants. Property owners will receive more. The government will itself rent properties and pay owners a market price, but of no more than 1,500 euros in Mallorca and Menorca (2,100 in Ibiza and Formentera). The government will therefore subsidise up to 30% of the rent.
President Prohens said on Monday that the programme is a means of overcoming owners' concerns about renting out. "They prefer to keep properties empty for fear of non-payment, damage or bad experiences."
Owners will have the option of receiving rent on a monthly basis, in the form of an annual advance or even for the full period of the programme - seven years. For tenants, requirements will include a minimum of five years residence in the Balearics.
The college of estate agents in the Balearics is involved with the scheme, and it will validate the price the government pays to owners, who will be able to apply a 70% deduction in their annual tax returns. This percentage is specified in Spanish law for the renting of social housing to governments.
José Luis Artieda, president of the college, believes that the programme will be very well received. "We will look to get empty homes onto the market and encourage owners to join the scheme even if the rent is lower."
The president of the college of property administrators, Antoni Jaume, welcomes the initiative but doubts that there really are 100,000 empty homes on the islands, as figures from the National Statistics Institute suggest. However, if only five per cent are put on the market it will be a success.