Families in Tenerife with at least one child or those in need of more than one bedroom have difficulty finding rental properties below 800€ in the southern part of the island. In fact, the only option available on the well-known real estate portal Idealista is located in Arico. Priced at 790€ for two bedrooms and 55 m²2, its dimensions lead the landlord to only recommend it for one or two persons.
This second-floor apartment does not have an elevator. The kitchen and living room share a single space. In the bedrooms, the beds are attached to the wardrobes, and there is only one bathroom. These are the main characteristics of the property, situated in the Jaca neighbourhood, Arico, near the beach.
This is the only viable option when filtering by price and number of rooms on the real estate portal, alongside another property in Costa del Silencio that is only available for seasonal rental, thus not suitable for those seeking a permanent rental.
Only 13 available properties below a thousand euros
Rental prices continue to soar in Tenerife. Following the viral tweet criticising the inability to find apartments below 600€, the controversy over the difficulties in accessing suitable housing has erupted on the social network X. The southern region is one of the areas where this problem is most acute.
The total supply in the south, from Los Gigantes to El Porís de Abona, is 251 properties. Of these, only nine are below 800 euros and have at least one bedroom. By increasing the budget to 900 euros, the options extend to 20 properties. It would be even more challenging to find a residence with two or more bedrooms, as there are only 13 available below a thousand euros.
A significant percentage of these figures is made up of properties available for short-term leases. The southern part of Tenerife is the main tourist hub of the island, and a large portion of the housing supply is aimed at meeting the demands of those on short stays, typically less than six months. The rise of holiday homes has become another issue for permanent residents in the South.
Having one of the lowest salaries in Spain doesn’t help
The problem is not limited to the southern region. Overall in Tenerife, out of 582 properties offered, only 79 have at least one bedroom and are below 800 euros. These figures, in many instances, are not within reach of the Canary Island population, as it is among the regions with the lowest average salary in Spain, alongside Extremadura.
In 2023, the annual earnings of the average Spanish employee exceeded those of the island worker by 3,600 euros. Most residents in Tenerife would not be able to afford rental properties priced above 800 euros. The task becomes even more challenging for families, limiting their choices to options such as the one in Arico, with less than 60 square metres, no living room, and minimal space in one of the bedrooms.
