Housing rents have arrived so large in Ibiza that caravans and tents in improvised camps are viewed by locals as a solution

It's one more night, another party at a hotel in Ibiza. International clientele dances on house rhythms, while laser lights are reflected on swimming pools and a sea of sunglasses worn after leaving dark at outdoor places. Many parties are fully dressed in white; Some show signs of intoxication. Ask those who stand in front of this place and some of the legendary night clubs on the Spanish Mediterranean island, and they will say they spend a lot, but the experience is worth it, reports Reuters.

However, behind the clubbing scene and beaches in Ibiza, a crisis of housing forced many locals and seasonal workers to divide crammed apartments, commute from other islands or to stay in tents and caravans from unauthorized camps.

Ibiza problems reflect a larger problem in Spain, where the lack of housing accessible in cities and popular coastal destinations has triggered protests to request rents and to denounce excessive tourism. Activists accuse the owners of preferring to rent short -term homes instead of longer and less profitable contracts.

In Ibiza, almost 800 people have come to live in improvised settlements, according to last year's data. The figure does not include about 200 people who lived in barracks, tents and vans in the “Can Rovi 2” camp, before they were evacuated last month.

“The island is a paradise, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. But it also has a hidden face,” says Jeronimo Diana, a 50-year-old water installation technician, who lived in Can Rovi 2.

A normal monthly rent would swallow most of his salary of 1,800 euros, he explains.

What amounts do rents reach ibiza

The average rents in Ibiza reached a peak of 33.7 euros per square meter in July last year, an increase of 23% compared to July 2023, according to the data of the idealistic real estate site. This translates to about 1,500 euros for a small apartment with a bedroom. The national minimum wage in Spain is 1,381 euros per month.

As a possible side effect, Ibiza faces a growing shortage of teachers and medical staff, according to the data of the regional government. Some civil servants make the shuttle on the neighboring islands, Menorca and Mallorca.

Maria Jose Tejero, a 24 -year -old emergency technician, says she shares a small two -time apartment to handle, because the rent is twice as high as her salary.

When she works on the ambulance at night, she sometimes feels “like a bonus”, she says: “People come here, drink, take drugs and I think life is just a party, but that life can end.”

Defined balloons cover a street full of bars in the popular tourist city Sant Antoni. Dealers discreetly swells balloons with nitrogen oxide – ryar gas – selling short -term euphoria with 5 euros.

Lia Romero, a 28 -year -old nurse from the Canary Islands, says she also shares an apartment and does not allow her to pay entrances to bars or go to the restaurant.

“Ibiza means only display and demonstrations of wealth, without place for ordinary people,” it is mourning.

The island received over 3 million tourists only last year

According to the Regional Institute of Statistics, Ibiza received 3.28 million tourists in 2024, of which 76% from outside Spain, while the resident population of the island reached a record of 161,485 inhabitants.

Jonathan Ariza, mechanic and construction worker in Colombia, who claims to request political asylum in Spain, lives in a caravan near the main hospital.

“As long as tourists continue to come, there will be people willing to live in precarious conditions to have a job,” he says.

Alejandra, a 31-year-old Colombian with a residence permit, lives in a shelter administered by the Catholic organization “Caritas” after he failed to rent a home. She said she slept in a tent with her 3-year-old son David until they were evacuated.

Alejandra said she has found a new job at a hotel and wants to leave the shelter, but she is afraid not to lose her job “because of the Lentor” to the authorities to renew the residence permit.

Social assistants Gustavo Gomez and Belen Torres, who lead the Caritas shelter, said that the owners frequently discriminate families with children and evacuate their tenants to replace them in the more profitable summer months.

Huge fines in Ibiza for those who illegally rent housing for tourists

Local authorities intensify checks on illegal tourist rentals, imposing fines starting from 40,001 euros for those who publish them.

Mariano Juan, a member of the Conservative People's Party governing the Balearic Region, states that holiday rental platforms have agreed to automatically withdraw the ads that officials consider illegal, instead of waiting for a slower judicial decision.

In Juan's opinion, the high demand and the limited land for construction lead to “absolutely illogical” prices of rents in Ibiza.

At the national level, the center-left government promised to triple the state budget for housing and to accelerate the construction of social housing. But a law of 2023 that introduced some rents controls was limited and many opposition regions refuses to apply the rules, having a high degree of autonomy in housing policy.

The National Association of Owners, Asval, rejects the control of the rents, arguing that it reduces the offer and increases the prices. The organization argues that the best ways to lower rents are public stimulants and more constructions.