Tenerife The Government of the Canary Islands has approved the construction of 134 homes for affordable rent on the southern island. The vice president of the island, Lope Afonso, along with the Minister of Housing, Sonia Hernández, have announced that the Cabildo will participate in the Governing Council, which is set to approve today the Autonomous State-Community Agreement for a total of 674 social homes that will be energetically efficient, as part of the recovery and resilience plan financed by the European Union through the Next Generation funds.
In the south
Of the total number of homes planned in the Canary Islands under this agreement made in the Bilateral Commission State-Community of the Canary Islands, 134 will be constructed in Tenerife, specifically in the southern municipalities of Adeje (51), Guía de Isora (24) and Arona (59).
Useful tool
Lope Afonso states: “Our aim is for the Cabildo to become an effective tool to alleviate the issue of access to housing in Tenerife, which is one of the primary concerns of the island’s residents.” Afonso emphasises that “it is imperative for us to enhance housing policies to offer viable housing solutions, reaffirming our unwavering commitment in this regard.”
Collaboration
Sonia Hernández highlights the importance of “inter-administrative collaboration, considering that we have only recently been able to exercise competencies in housing. This is vital to tackle the housing emergency and to provide effective responses to the citizens.”
Increase
There is an increase in investment. The Cabildo de Tenerife announced yesterday that, through the housing sector, it has raised resources for the development of affordable housing to 38.5 million euros since the commencement of the current term (2023-2027), implementing various plans and programmes that, when executed, will entail the construction or authorisation of 1,134 homes for this purpose.
Addition
Furthermore, in addition to the 4.4 million euros for co-financing these 134 homes, there is a 20 million euros provision for the active housing, land, and rehabilitation plans from the previous fiscal year, alongside the 15.7 million euros allocated for this fiscal year (which includes the 4.4 million from the latest agreement) and 2,850,000 euros assigned to the 2025 schedule of the agreement established between the Cabildo and the Icavi (Government of the Canary Islands).
Supply and demand
The official statistics from the Public Registry of applicants for Social Housing in the Canary Islands show there are over 25,000 individuals, approximately 13,000 of whom are in Tenerife, predominantly young. Conversely, there are currently only about 300 rental properties available on the island at an affordable price compared to nearly 20,000 tourist rentals, mainly located in the south. This highlights a distinct upward trend in holiday rentals that still require regulation. Estimates suggest there are approximately 200,000 vacant homes across the archipelago.
