Today’s plenary session of Adeje Council voted to approve a request to the regional Canarian government to initiate the procedures to declare the municipality a stressed area under the “ May 24 Law 12/2023” housing law as passed recently by the national government. The motion, presented by the socialist group, was supported by the Coalición Canaria, the Partido Popular and Unidas Podemos, with Vox voting against.
The plenary session also voted to add an amendment from Unidas Podemos, urging “the Spanish State to inventory and analyse the assets of the Administration and Public Bodies; to urge the Government of the Canary Islands to provide the necessary means for the correct development of the reference index of housing rental prices in the community; and to inform the FECAM of the agreements.”
Adeje mayor commented that "we want to take advantage of this measure because it is one more tool within a package of measures that we want to implement to try to somehow alleviate the housing problem. We are facing a complex problem, which takes time and in which we are exploring the possibilities within the national law, as well as the decree from the regional Canarian government. We have to create frameworks that make it possible for workers to have access to housing within their salary and economic remits".
The motion now gives the regional government access to carry out the necessary studies to measure the socio-economic parameters that would allow this declaration of a stressed area to be put into effect in Adeje. One of the recurring questions in the plenary session was whether the measure of lowering the rent would be mandatory or optional. The mayor of Adeje has made it clear that these measures are optional for property owners who may or may not adhere to them. People who decide to adhere to new measures may have up to 90% tax benefits in their income tax returns.
The mayor was also clear that this measure alone will not solve the housing problem in Adeje, but will be part of a wider plan which will also include the building of subsidized housing, the acquisition of land for the construction of these homes, bonuses or incentives to private enterprise for the development of affordable housing, etc..
What declaring a zone a ‘stressed area’ means
The study by the regional government will provide them with official statistical data on whether Adeje residents spend 30% or more of their income on housing or, also, if the purchase or rental price has suffered increases that exceed the CPI (Consumer Price Index) by 3 points in the previous five years, with the option of carrying out this study by zones or population nuclei within the municipality itself.
The study will first determine whether a zone, multiple zones or if the whole municipality is affected. From there, if determined that Adeje is to be confirmed as a ‘stressed area’, those who want to take advantage of the measure must reduce their rent by 5% in exchange for tax credits that could amount to up to 90%. The deduction would be 70% if it is rented for the first time to young people between 18 and 35 years of age, or if the property has been renovated or improved, the rebate will be up to 60%. In addition, owners who sign a contract of at least 10 years will be exempt from the price freeze and will be able to increase the rent by up to 10% in exchange for extending the duration of the contract.
Other housing measures
Adeje is already looking at the construction of 45 houses in Armeñime and is preparing for the allocation of more land to increase that amount. In the last three decades the council has already helped place over a thousand homes for working people on the market.
