Thousands of homes being built in the Canary Islands remain unfinished for one frustrating reason.
The Spanish islands are facing a housing shortage – but 25,000 homes are ready to be built and are being held back by the local government.
Developers are waiting for construction licences to be issued and renewed, with delays causing a major bottleneck.
The president of the Canary Islands Federation of Municipalities, Mari Brito, said of the issue: “We have identified the situation across many municipalities.
“Some delays might be due to other problems, but the average processing time currently ranges between a year to a year and a half.”
Construction companies say it often “takes longer to complete the paperwork than the construction work”. They argue that it would be possible to “build all the necessary homes quickly” in the Canary Islands for residents if permits were processed more efficiently.
The Canaries Parliament ratified an emergency housing decree in March, which will not be processed as a bill.
Regional housing councillor, Pablo Rodríguez, highlighted the inadequacy of the current Canary Islands housing plan which only includes 2,000 planned homes.
He emphasised the need for more comprehensive measures including recategorising land to make it available for development, creating social housing with protected rents, simplifying administrative processes, converting unfinished commercial spaces into residential units, and completing unfinished housing projects.
This comes weeks after Canary Islands President, Fernando Clavijo, said the time has come to restrict foreigners from buying homes in the region.
He said he understands the “discomfort and unease” felt by the Canary Islands population due to the demographic increase that has not been accompanied by a proportional development in services and infrastructure.
It comes as widespread protests have been taking place across the Canary Islands including Ibiza and Tenerife, as local residents are growing sick and tired of overtourism.