The Island Government Council of the Cabildo de Tenerife approves this Tuesday the agreement with the Autonomous Community of Canary Islandsthrough the Canary Islands Housing Institute (ICAVI), and the public company Visocan, for the execution of the regional Housing Plan in what refers to the expansion of the public park for social rental. The Island Corporation allocates 5,056,000 euros to actions in the municipalities of Arona, Puerto de la Cruz, Granadilla and Adeje, which are among the most needy on the Island due to the deficit in this area.
This agreement will make it possible to acquire homes and then make them available to the municipalities, with which the appropriate agreements will be signed, so that, in turn, they favor more affordable social rent.
The Cabildo de Tenerife has been working with Visocan for some time and the Government of the Canary Islands for respond to the most stressed municipalities in Tenerife. There is already previous work carried out throughout this mandate to identify what type of property can be used for this purpose and in what specific areas.
The objective is to finance the acquisition of those that are already under construction, as well as those whose works are finished or practically finished.
It is the first time in history that the Cabildo de Tenerife has taken a step forward to support the municipalities and the Government of the Canary Islands and promote the execution of the Canarian Housing Plan on the Island. There is already a budget and the administrative tool to invest in the municipalities and promote the availability of an affordable rental housing stock.
No direct competition
Peter Martinthe insular president, appreciates that “in Tenerife we have a serious housing deficit problem, as in the rest of the islands or at a national level». He recalls that “the Cabildo does not have powers in this matter, we do not build them, that is a job of the Government of the Canary Islands.” However, he emphasizes that “we wanted to contribute to the increase of public parks in the two ways in which we can do it, with the purchase and rehabilitation.”
On the one hand, he values, «we approved tomorrow (for this Tuesday) in the Governing Council five million euros to, together with Visocan, invest in stressed areas; that is to say with great need». In four municipalities of Tenerife: Puerto de la Cruz, Granadilla de Abona and Adeje. An area is considered to be stressed if the average cost of housing exceeds 30% of the personal, household or family budget.
Pedro Martín points out that «the specific number of homes to be acquired depends on the price at which one can buy those that are half-built or already built, those from the so-called bad banks, etc. They can be a minimum of 70 or 80 or reach a hundred if the cost is more affordable. I insist, it depends on the price ».
The other way of insular intervention in the collaboration to alleviate the lack of social housing in Tenerife is rehabilitation. In this sense, the president of the Cabildo emphasizes that “we give two million euros in total to Santa Cruz and La Laguna, one to each city, to undertake these improvement and reform works in the buildings.” Pedro Martín emphasizes that “given its territorial extension, this aid is separate and focused on rehabilitation.”
Both these five million for stressed areas and the two for large cities, Martín assures that “they are apart from the specific injections to the larger town halls in processes such as the replacement of Las Chumberas, where the Cabildo de Tenerife finances its part”.
In Santa Cruz and La Laguna the Government of the Canary Islands already acts directly with a policy of public housing. Despite this, in December 2022, the Cabildo de Tenerife activated the payment of those two million to the main cities of the Island for rehabilitation. The economic injection from the insular coffers is destined to the execution of projects to improve housing and the urban environment in the neighborhoods of anaza (381 properties), in the capital, and El Cardonal (438), in Aguere.
