Balearic Government requirements for accessing public housing include the need for five years residency in the Balearics. However, this general principle can be increased at the request of town halls, while the residency period can be specific to municipalities.
To date, five town halls in Mallorca, representing all political parties, have had authorisation from the government to increase the five-year requirement. In Esporles, governed by Més, seven years are required, the same as for a housing development in Peguera that has just been approved by the Partido Popular-Vox administration in Calvia.
In Inca, run by PSOE, priority is for young people under 35 with at least eight years of residency in the municipality, and in Sencelles (led by El Pi) the priority is for young people with ten years of residency in the municipality.
The most extreme case is Soller, where there is a PP mayor. Priority is to be given to young people who have been registered with the town hall for at 18 years. In the city of Ibiza, the minimum is ten years. Of other town halls, Pollença (PSOE-Més) is known to be studying a longer residency requirement.
Esporles, where the average income is the highest in the Balearics, was the first to adopt the measure. Mayor Josep Ferrà says it had to be implemented because two factors have caused a housing emergency - a shortage of public land and high demand for housing. These are factors, it has to be said, which apply all over Mallorca.
The ministry of housing says that all the measures in the housing access emergency plan recently approved by the government are aimed at generating affordable housing for residents of the islands. It adds that more municipalities are considering implementing similar measures and that it will support these for as long as the property market remains at its current levels.