The Report on Exclusion and Social Development on the Island of Ibiza, prepared by the Foundation for Social Studies and Applied Sociology (Foessa), an organisation linked to Cáritas, places particular emphasis on the housing crisis on the island, which it describes as exceptional when compared with the rest of the Balearic Islands and Spain. According to the report, the Ibizan real estate landscape and the “lack of an institutional response” push many people to make extreme decisions. These include opting for “inadequate housing alternatives that involve excessive financial strain”, or even “leaving the island and moving to the mainland, to less pressured areas and therefore with more affordable prices, not only for housing (both access and maintenance), but also for the overall cost of living”.
This latter option is taken even by “long-standing residents”, prompting the study to question whether they “still feel part of their community” after being displaced from something as fundamental as housing.
The report goes on to state that accessing and maintaining a home “has become, for many people, an impossibility, forcing them to rely on family networks or acquaintances to find accommodation or alternatives, often accepting inadequate or unsafe conditions”. In the absence of social support networks, Foessa warns, “the difficulty of finding and keeping housing becomes even more acute”.
The study, carried out throughout 2024, is particularly critical of living conditions on the island, which it describes as a kind of real estate Wild West: an island without effective regulation, where neither local nor Balearic authorities have put forward firm and effective solutions, effectively leaving the housing crisis at the mercy of the free market. “The island’s economic structure facilitates the eviction of individuals and families living in rented accommodation during the high season months in order to meet tourist demand”, the report states. All in the name of tourism, even when this undermines workforce stability and the provision of services within the sector.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.