Since new housing legislation was passed in 2018, the Balearic Government has issued fines totalling €3.3 million that relate to substandard and illegal housing.
There have been 108 sanctioning procedures, 46 of which were for 2024. In 2023 there were 26. The increase in the number of procedures reflects the growing provision of wholly inadequate dwellings that are exploiting the housing emergency in Mallorca and the Balearics.
The highest-profile case has been that of a Palma Police officer who was arrested in November 2023 following a report from the housing ministry's inspection service. He was in charge of various, small basement units at properties in Palma that had been converted into living accommodation. Apart from there having been no permissions for conversion, the units violated all habitability criteria.
On Wednesday, ministry inspectors and the National Police went to a property in Manacor. In its grounds they discovered eleven shanties, the conditions of which almost defied belief.
The ministry explains that "the owner charged rent without these units meeting the necessary sanitary and basic utility standards".
"It was a shanty-like building with two shared bathrooms and two shared kitchens. The owner took advantage of the housing needs of the people who paid the rent, many of whom were low-income or in an irregular situation in the country.
"The premises presented precarious conditions, both in terms of hygiene - due to the accumulation of garbage, organic waste, and unsanitary conditions - and of safety, with deteriorated roofs and unstable structures. Furthermore, there is a deficient electrical system, which could pose a danger to the people living there."
José Francisco Reynés, the director-general for housing said on Wednesday: "There are people taking advantage of the current housing emergency we are experiencing on the islands and renting out or subleasing substandard housing to tenants who are having difficulty finding a home. These are usually vulnerable people or seasonal workers who need a home during certain months and are unable to access it. Offenders are taking advantage of this situation. We at the ministry of housing are pursuing these cases in order to prevent situations of this type from occurring."
Housing ministry fines can be a maximum of 90,000 euros per unit. In the Manacor case, therefore, the total fine could be just short of one million euros.