Elderly residents, including British tourists and expats, are being priced out of a Spanish city due to soaring rental costs. The city of Valencia has seen tens of thousands take to the streets in protest, with chants of “Valencia is drowning”.
Antonio, a 76-year-old pensioner, told lasexta.com that he was forced to move 25 miles away due to unaffordable rents, which would have taken up half of his income. He said: “I have an average pension, and nothing was less than 600-700 euros.
“[Rent is] 400 euros. I earn 1,040 and you have to add food and other expenses.”
Protesters, including Alba Font, have vowed to continue their fight, saying: “We will not give up until we achieve our goals because our lives depend on it.” They vowed to stay put until at least Sunday.
The demonstrators are developing a strategy, with Font adding: “The camp is a political strategy built day by day. We have reclaimed the Town Hall square and made it ours, as a symbol of neighbourhood resistance. Now we are taking a step further: if we don’t have a home, the square alone is no longer enough for us. We want everything and we will fight for everything.”
One person fired back, asking: “Has anyone explained what the leaders of the City of Valencia did with all the money that the City made from the 2.2 million visitors a year? Did they do nothing at all to protect the people of the City and ensure that they could afford to continue to live there? Were there no opportunities to provide social housing or enact local laws to limit property price increases?”
It comes as a whopping 33.4 per cent of all properties in the Balearic Islands are snapped up by non-Spaniards. Meanwhile, the Canary Islands see foreigners purchasing 31.1 per cent of homes, with Valencia not far behind at 28.8 per cent and Murcia at 23.6 per cent.
In Catalonia, the figure stands at 16.1 per cent, while Andalusia sees 13.7 per cent of its properties going to international buyers.
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