Mark Stücklin
Despite some headlines, this is not a serious initiative from the Spanish government or parliament, but a non-binding political move by two leftwing senators.
A non-binding motion from the Insularity Committee
This week, a parliamentary committee in Spain—the Comisión Mixta de Insularidad (Joint Congress and Senate Committee on Insularity)—will discuss a proposal to restrict home purchases by non-residents in the Balearic and Canary Islands. The motion is non-binding and carries no legislative weight.
It has been presented by two senators from the left wing of the Grupo Izquierda Confederal, aiming to force Spain’s two main parties—the centre-right PP and centre-left PSOE—to take a position on an issue that regularly surfaces in island politics: restricting foreign demand for property.
A familiar idea with no legal basis
The motion urges the Spanish government to seek changes in EU law that would allow regions to restrict property purchases based on residency. This would require overturning the EU’s fundamental principle of the free movement of capital, which includes property investment.
The European Commission has consistently stated that such restrictions are not compatible with EU law, and successive Spanish governments have taken no steps to pursue them.
The argument: tourism and foreign buyers driving out locals
The promoters of the motion claim that home purchases by non-residents—especially in tourist hotspots—are “generating unprecedented pressure on the housing market” in the islands, “distorting prices and progressively excluding the local population from access to decent housing, while eroding the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the islands.”
While the symptoms they describe are real—housing affordability is a growing issue in both archipelagos—the diagnosis and proposed cure are politically charged and legally unrealistic.
Not the first time, and likely not the last
This is not a new idea. Left-wing politicians in the Balearic and Canary Islands have raised similar proposals several times before, with no results. The EU has always ruled out special exceptions for the islands, and no government in Madrid has been willing to champion the cause.
Despite this, the topic regularly grabs headlines—especially in local and national media—framing it as if restrictions on foreign buyers are imminent. They are not.
A real problem, but the wrong solution
Although this initiative will not lead to anything, it does reflect a real underlying tension in the property markets of the islands: limited housing supply, combined with strong demand from tourists and second-home buyers, is putting increasing pressure on local residents.
