A week or so ago there was a report of what was described as a 'rural house', but was basically a shed, for rent on a property website for 695 euros a month.
Located in Maria de la Salut, the Guardia Civil acted on the report and inspected the property. Officers discovered that it had only eight square metres of habitable space. The rent was excessively high for the size and the condition of the property.
The owner, a resident of Maria de la Salut, had installed connections for electricity and television. There were solar panels and water tanks outside. It had clearly been converted from agricultural to residential use.
Since the Guardia inspection, reports have been sent to the Balearic Government's housing ministry and water resources department and to the Council of Mallorca's agency for the defence of territory. Respectively, these reports referred to violations of regulations governing habitability; the extraction of water (there is a well without the corresponding authorisation); and urban planning.
The owner now faces potential penalties for all these violations.