The left demands that those who set abusive rental prices be persecuted in Palma and not to the squatters and it is for this reason that they ask the municipal council to dismantle the anti-squatting office, not yet launched, which the PP municipal government, with the support of Vox, will launch before the end of the year .
The initiative comes from the sole advisor of Can at the Palmas Town Hall, Lucie Muñoz, who presented a proposal for debate at the municipal plenary session of November 28, which will have the support of its socialist and independence partners, now in opposition.
For this training, situations of real estate harassment, abuse on the part of owners and unjustified evictions These are widespread problems that directly affect a significant portion of tenants.
In many cases, the proposition points out, evictions are not due to non-payments, but to situations derived from real estate speculationthe rise in rental prices and the precarious conditions in which tenants find themselves.
Hence, underlines the Podemos advisor, the need to create an office that does not focus on squattingbut is responsible for regulating and sanctioning bad practices by landlords, guaranteeing the protection of tenants and promoting a fairer and more accessible housing market for all.
In the opinion of this training, even if the squat housing has been the subject of a media and political debate, the available statistics indicate that “it is a marginal and behind-the-scenes problemcompared to other more generalized problems.
According to the National Police report of 2023, illegal squatting in the Balearic Islands represents a minimal fraction of housing affected by residential problems, it is estimated that it only affects around 0.06% of the real estate stock and its incidence has decreased by almost 25%. .last year.
Furthermore, the public’s perception of squatting would be influenced by media affairs, whereas in terms of real incidence, the vast majority of households on the island are not affected by this phenomenon.
Therefore, approaching this problem as if it were a structural challenge is an error that ignores the causes and underlying problems of the real estate market.
It is for this reason that this allied formation of the socialist and independence government partners of Palma during the last two legislatures, proposes the replacement of the Anti-Squatting Office with a Disciplinary Office of Housing.
It would be a model inspired by Barcelona City Hall, in order to respond in a more efficient and equitable manner to the real residential problems that affect the population, giving priority to the defense of tenants’ rights and the control of abusive practices. in the housing market.
Among its functions would be effective protection of rights tenantsensuring landlords comply with their legal obligations and protecting tenants from property abuse and harassment.
In addition to continuing the task that the anti-eviction office offered until now, its functions would include the rental market controlby regulating private sector practices, avoiding real estate speculation and promoting more accessible and equitable housing policies.
The Housing Discipline Office will act as mediator between the parties involved, will carry out control and sanction tasks for illegal practices.such as non-compliance with rental contracts, poor living conditions and arbitrary eviction of tenants, in addition to promoting public policies that facilitate access to housing and protect the most vulnerable groups.
And finally, he will also be in charge of legal and psychological support for tenants affected by real estate harassment, evictions or precarious living conditions, facilitating access to legal and social resources.
