Canary Islands Government takes bold steps to address housing crisis in Lanzarote

The Minister of Public Works, Housing, and Mobility of the Canary Islands Government, Pablo Rodríguez, unveiled a comprehensive plan to tackle the issue of housing accessibility in Lanzarote during Thursday's parliamentary session.

He revealed that the government is actively working on the construction of 440 homes on the island, with additional measures to be introduced to meet the housing needs of residents who are finding it impossible to access affordable housing.

Minister Rodríguez emphasised the urgency of the situation, highlighting that over 1,800 people are currently registered as housing seekers in Lanzarote. To address this crisis, a Shock Plan was approved in October last year, encompassing various measures. Additionally, the government plans to pass a decree law on urgent housing measures and modify existing regulations to streamline the housing allocation procedure.

Providing details on the ongoing projects, Rodríguez shared that out of the 440 planned homes, 134 are already under construction, and are expected to be completed by 2025. Another 67 are in the approval phase for bidding, while 166 projects are in the bidding phase.

The Canarian Housing Institute is collaborating with the Cabildo to secure land in the municipalities of Yaiza and Arrecife for the construction of the remaining homes.

The proposed decree law on urgent housing measures covers two key groups of measures. The first aims to increase the availability of land and utilise existing unfinished buildings for housing, while the second is designed to promote and facilitate the construction of protected housing.

The legislation also mandates procedural simplifications, including reducing the declaration of urgency from six to three months and declaring public utility and social interest for publicly promoted housing construction projects to facilitate expropriation processes.

Rodríguez expressed confidence that with these measures and others in the pipeline, the government will effectively address the housing crisis in Lanzarote, meeting the current and future needs of Canarian citizens. The commitment to direct application and procedural simplification reflects a concerted effort to expedite administrative procedures and ensure the success of the ambitious housing initiatives.