New building stop decree for the construction of Fincas

Mallorca’s real estate and construction industry is in turmoil after the Balearic Islands government plans to halt construction in many rural areas. New construction in previously undeveloped areas is to be prevented or severely restricted for the time being. The same applies to areas where it is not clearly regulated whether or not building is planned. More than 50,000 hectares of rural areas will be protected by the new decree, about 600 of which are outside the municipalities and could have been built on. Instead of the previous 1,500 m³, buildings should now only have a maximum of 900 m³ (approx. 300 m² gross floor area = approx. 240 m² net living space). Pools should only have a maximum size of 35 m².
The decree is apparently based on a compromise between the governing parties PSOE and Més, who had been at loggerheads over the regulations, especially because the left-wing green junior partner Més had publicly distanced himself from promoting the building sector, although the socialists wanted to revive it precisely because of the Corona crisis - among other things, hotels are to be granted relief in the coming months for conversion or extension, i.e. building in urban areas will be promoted.
The compromise was that Més, in return, was able to prevail with the demand for better protection of the rural areas, so that the municipalities should provide clarity about the buildability of their rural areas in the next one and a half years (moratorium). Until this is the case, there will be no new construction projects.

In the process, building land is also to be converted back into fallow land if development has not yet taken place. The Caeb employers’ association calls the decree a “nail in the coffin for the construction industry and the jobs and families that depend on it. Also the association of international luxury real estate agents Abini, to which also Private Property Mallorca belongs, is outraged. This bill is said to be a scandal on the part of the association. One agrees with the criticism of Caeb. Due to this decree, which is currently still pending, the value of existing properties in rural areas is tending to rise or remain stable in value and we are currently seeing an increase in enquiries from customers on fincas island wide. Specially the area Santanyi in the south east of the island and the centre of the island around Santa Maria and Alaro are very popular.
Many thanks for providing the article to the Mallorca Magazine.