The Consell d’Alcaldes of Ibiza has unanimously called on the Spanish Government to give existing island residents priority when public and affordable rental housing is allocated in Ibiza, with particular attention on the 532 homes planned at Ca n’Escandell.

The agreement was reached on Friday, September 18, following a proposal brought forward by Ibiza Town Mayor Rafael Triguero after Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez visited the Ca n’Escandell site the previous day.

The island's five mayors and the Consell de Ibiza are asking that people who can demonstrate at least 10 years of residence in Ibiza receive preference in the allocation process.

The request follows the minister's visit

The decision came one day after Rodríguez visited Ca n’Escandell and explained the Spanish Government's position on the future homes.

According to the minister's position reported after the visit, the homes would be available to legal residents of Spain rather than being reserved in advance for people who already live in Ibiza.

Rodríguez said the approach would also allow Ibiza to attract professionals needed on the island, including people working in healthcare, education and the security services. Future successful applicants would then be expected to register as residents in Ibiza.

That position prompted an immediate response from the Ibiza Town government and subsequently from the Consell d’Alcaldes.

Ten years of residence requested

The agreement does not simply call for a general preference for Ibiza residents.

The Consell d’Alcaldes is specifically asking the Spanish Government and Casa 47 to give preference to applicants who can demonstrate at least 10 years of residence on the island.

The request is intended to apply particularly to the 532 homes planned at Ca n’Escandell.

The ten-year threshold is therefore a proposed allocation criterion, not a rule that has already been formally adopted for these homes.

All five municipalities support the request

The agreement was adopted unanimously by the Consell d’Alcaldes, bringing together the Consell de Ibiza and the island's five municipalities.

The institutions argue that public housing being developed to address Ibiza's housing shortage should primarily benefit people already living on the island.

They have also asked the Spanish Housing Ministry and Casa 47 to take the island's specific housing situation into account when establishing the future allocation rules.

Local authorities point to housing pressure

The island institutions argue that Ibiza is experiencing a serious housing-access problem affecting families, young people and workers already living on the island.

Consell President Vicent Marí said public housing should help people who already live and work in Ibiza remain on the island.

He also linked the housing debate to Ibiza's population growth and pressure on infrastructure and public services.

These are the political arguments advanced by the Consell and mayors rather than an independent assessment of the causes of Ibiza's housing shortage.

The 532 homes are not yet being allocated

The 532 Ca n’Escandell homes are still at the development stage.

No final list of beneficiaries exists, and the allocation process has not yet begun.

The exact criteria will have to be established before applications can be assessed.

This means the current dispute concerns the rules that will eventually govern access rather than the removal of an existing allocation system.

A legal argument is also being made

Ibiza's institutions argue that there is already a basis in Balearic housing legislation for giving preference to residents.

The municipality has pointed to changes to the Balearic Housing Law concerning access to publicly protected housing.

The Consell and the mayors say this provides a legal foundation for resident preference, although the exact application of those provisions to the different Ca n’Escandell homes remains part of the wider dispute.

The Balearic Government has separately said that protected housing is subject to a minimum residence requirement under regional legislation.

Five years and ten years are different proposals

An important distinction has emerged in the debate.

Balearic Government spokesman Antoni Costa said protected housing is subject to a legal minimum of five years of residence under the regional housing framework.

The Consell d’Alcaldes is asking for a stronger preference based on at least 10 years of residence.

The five-year figure and the proposed ten-year preference should therefore not be treated as the same rule.

The minister's position remains different

Rodríguez's position is that the homes should not be restricted in advance to people who already live in Ibiza.

Her argument is that public housing should also help address the island's need for workers from outside Ibiza, including professionals required in essential services.

This creates a direct disagreement with the position adopted unanimously by the Consell d’Alcaldes.

The Spanish Government's final position on the specific allocation criteria for the 532 homes has not yet been replaced by the ten-year proposal from the island institutions.

What the island is asking for

The Consell d’Alcaldes is asking the Spanish Government and Casa 47 to modify the future allocation criteria so that existing residents receive priority.

Its specific request is that applicants with at least 10 years of residence in Ibiza should receive preference.

The institutions say this would allow the homes to address the housing difficulties of people already established on the island while still allowing separate mechanisms to accommodate essential workers.

The dispute is not yet resolved

The unanimous vote gives the island's five municipalities and the Consell a common position, but it does not itself change the rules governing the future homes.

The 532 homes remain subject to a future allocation process, and the criteria have not yet been finalised.

For now, three positions are clear: the island institutions are asking for a 10-year resident preference, the Balearic Government has highlighted a five-year residence requirement for protected housing, and the Spanish Housing Minister has rejected a specific advance preference for existing Ibiza residents in the Casa 47 homes.

The next step will be determining which legal and administrative criteria ultimately apply when the Ca n’Escandell homes become available.