Formentera's stock of officially protected housing has remained unchanged at 57 homes since 2017, according to the latest figures from the Balearic Islands Housing Observatory (OHIB).

The figures show that no new protected homes were incorporated into Formentera's existing housing stock between 2018 and 2025. The island currently has the smallest protected-housing stock in the Balearic Islands.

However, the picture is beginning to change. The Balearic Government is advancing a new development of 60 public homes in Es Pujols. These homes are part of the current public-housing programme and should not be confused with homes already incorporated into the existing protected-housing stock.

Formentera Has 57 Protected Homes

According to the OHIB data, Formentera had 57 homes with valid official-protection status in 2025.

That compares with:

Formentera therefore has by far the smallest protected-housing stock in the Balearic Islands.

The figure of 57 has remained unchanged since 2017.

The historical series shows that the island began with 12 protected homes in 1986. Six additional homes were added between 1996 and 1999, taking the total to 18.

A further development of 37 homes in 2005 brought the stock to 55.

The number subsequently fell to 43 in 2016 as older protection periods expired. Fourteen new homes were then incorporated in 2017, bringing the total to the current 57.

No additional homes were incorporated during the eight years from 2018 through 2025.

Most of the Existing Stock Was Publicly Developed

The existing protected-housing stock in Formentera has been built overwhelmingly through public promotion.

Of the 57 protected homes currently recorded:

• 51, or 89.5%, were publicly promoted.

• 6, or 10.5%, came from private developers.

The proportion is notably different from Ibiza, where the OHIB data shows a larger role for private developers in the protected-housing stock.

The figures illustrate how little protected housing has been generated through private development on Formentera.

A New 60-Home Development Is Now Planned

The eight-year period without additions to the existing stock does not mean that no new public housing projects are being developed.

The Balearic Government's current housing programme includes a development of 60 public homes in Es Pujols, Formentera.

The Government describes it as the largest public-housing development ever undertaken on the island. The project forms part of a wider programme of 47 public-housing developments across the Balearic Islands, totalling 1,213 homes.

The Government's 2026 programme is currently moving through the administrative stages required for the projects to be tendered, awarded and constructed.

This means the 60 Es Pujols homes are planned or advancing homes, not 60 homes already added to the 57-home existing stock.

That distinction is essential when comparing current housing figures.

Formentera's Housing Shortage Remains Significant

The lack of growth in protected housing comes against a broader housing-supply problem on the island.

According to the OHIB figures cited in the report, Formentera's total housing stock increased by 31.56% over the past 25 years, while its population increased by 46.34%.

The resulting housing deficit is calculated at 54.34%, the highest proportion among the Balearic Islands in the analysis cited by the report.

The figures do not mean that 54.34% of Formentera's residents are without a home. Rather, they represent the estimated gap between housing-stock growth and population growth under the methodology used in the analysis.

Tourism Housing Represents a Large Share of the Residential Stock

The island also has an unusually high proportion of homes with tourist licences.

The OHIB recorded 1,293 homes with tourist licences in Formentera in 2025, representing 25.4% of the island's residential housing stock.

That was the highest proportion in the Balearic Islands.

For comparison, the corresponding figures were 9.6% in Menorca, 3.5% in Mallorca and 3.2% in Ibiza. Across the Balearic Islands as a whole, tourist-licensed housing represented 4.2% of the residential stock.

This is a measure of the proportion of the housing stock with tourist licences. It does not mean that all of those homes are permanently unavailable to residents throughout the year.

148 New Tourist-Housing Registrations Since the Start of the Legislature

The issue has also gained attention because the Consell de Formentera has reported 148 new tourist-housing registrations since the beginning of the current legislative term.

The figure was confirmed by Formentera's Councillor for Tourism, Commerce, Innovation and Housing, Artal Mayans García, during a plenary session.

According to the information provided, 88 of the registrations came through applications processed under Decree-Law 4/2025, while 60 predated that legislation. Of the latter group, 50 corresponded to an expansion of places permitted under the 2022 tourism moratorium law and had already been requested during the previous legislature.

These 148 registrations should therefore not be described as 148 entirely new properties suddenly entering the tourism market during 2026. Some originated from earlier applications.

The Comparison Needs Context

The difference between protected and tourist-licensed housing is striking, but the two categories are not directly equivalent.

The 57 figure refers to homes currently covered by official protected-housing status.

The 1,293 figure refers to homes with tourist licences in the 2025 OHIB data.

The 148 figure refers to new tourist-housing registrations reported by the Consell since the beginning of the current legislative term, including applications originating under previous legislation.

These figures represent different datasets and different time periods, so they should not be presented as a direct one-for-one comparison.

The Public-Housing Programme Is Beginning to Move

The Balearic Government has launched a much broader public-housing programme in response to the housing shortage across the islands.

Its current plan includes 1,213 new public homes in 47 developments, with 60 allocated to Formentera, 292 to Ibiza, 248 to Menorca and 613 to Mallorca.

The Government says the Formentera development will be the largest public-housing promotion ever undertaken on the island.

The projects are currently progressing through procedures including declarations of regional interest, tendering and construction arrangements. The homes therefore represent future supply rather than completed additions to the existing housing stock.

What Happens Next in Formentera?

The immediate significance of the 60-home Es Pujols project is that it could substantially increase Formentera's protected and public housing supply once construction is completed and the homes are incorporated into the housing stock.

If all 60 homes were eventually added to the existing 57-home stock, the island would have 117 protected/public homes represented by those two groups.

That is a mathematical illustration rather than a current housing figure, because the new homes have not yet been added to the existing 57.

The timing of construction and delivery will therefore be important.

At the same time, the Balearic Government has begun a 2026-2027 inspection programme covering protected-housing developments across the islands. Ten developments in Ibiza and Formentera are included in the inspection programme, with checks covering issues such as contracts, prices, eligibility requirements and compliance with protected-housing rules.

Ibiza One Stop Accuracy Note

The statement that Formentera has gone eight years without adding a new protected home refers to the 2018-2025 period in the latest OHIB housing-stock data. The island's existing protected-housing stock stood at 57 homes in 2025 and had remained at that level since 2017.

It would be inaccurate to say that Formentera currently has no new public-housing projects. The Balearic Government is advancing a 60-home public development in Es Pujols, described as the largest such development in the island's history. Those homes are planned/under development and have not yet been added to the existing 57-home stock.

The island also recorded 1,293 tourist-licensed homes in the OHIB's 2025 data, representing 25.4% of its residential housing stock, the highest proportion in the Balearics. Separately, the Consell reported 148 new tourist-housing registrations since the beginning of the current legislature, but those registrations include applications originating under earlier rules and should not be treated as 148 entirely new 2026 properties.