The Govern from the Balearic Islands has completed the expropriation of sixteen vacant homes belonging to major property owners, which will be used for social housing for a minimum of seven years. These apartments are part of the temporary compulsory transfer involving a total of 56 properties that the Housing Department initiated in March.
“We have demonstrated the legal viability and constitutionality of this mechanism, and now we have also put it into action”, said Eduardo Robsy, the Govern’s Director General of Housing, this morning.
The sixteen expropriated homes are already in IBAVI’s hands for rental to vulnerable families. Another six apartments have been added to the public housing stock after the Government exercised its right of first refusal. In addition, a total of 22 properties have passed into the hands of private individuals after the owners involved in the case voluntarily agreed to put them on the market for sale or rent. The remaining 56 properties were removed from proceedings because they did not meet the requirement of having been vacant for at least two years.
Robsy was pleased by the fact that his department’s staff has overcome “all the legal obstacles” brought about by the banks and large real estate companies which owned the properties that were finally expropriated. Three of them are located in Mallorca (two in Manacor and one in Llucmajor), while the rest are to be found in Menorca (8) and Ibiza (5).
“The objective of this mechanism was to defend housing’s social function, understanding that it should not be a commercial commodity but that it has to serve families”, said Robsy.