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New platform to bring empty homes onto the rental market
The Canary Islands government’s Department of Housing has launched the website for its Programme for the Incorporation of Empty Housing into the Rental Market in the Canary Islands, an initiative designed to mobilise empty or underused private homes and bring them into the affordable rental market. The platform, which can be accessed at www.vivacan.es, was announced by the department on Thursday and serves as a meeting point between owners who want to rent out their properties and people looking for a home at an affordable price.
The service offers free intermediation and support before, during and after the signing of the contract, with the aim of simplifying the process and giving greater security to both parties. The programme is being run through Viviendas Sociales e Infraestructuras de Canarias (Visocan), which has awarded the contract for its implementation and operational management to the company Factoría, Gestión y Consultoría, S. L.
Support for owners and tenants alike
The company will offer owners advice on rental prices, support in selecting solvent tenants, help with drawing up the contract and the inventory, and legal guidance. Meanwhile, those looking for a home can browse the available options, receive advice on the Urban Leasing Act (LAU) and get support with formalising the contract and resolving any issues that may arise during the tenancy.
The initiative also includes a monitoring and mediation service for the duration of the contract, with the aim of easing relations between owners and tenants and providing support when difficulties arise. The website brings together information on how the programme works, the services available to owners and tenants, and the properties on offer, and includes a search tool that allows users to filter homes by island, municipality, rental price, number of bedrooms and other features. The service provides in-person, mobile and online assistance across all eight islands, in order to make information easier to access and to support those interested at each stage of the process.
Guarantees to encourage owners to take part
The Canary Islands government’s housing minister, Pablo Rodríguez, explained the measures included in the affordable housing pool on Thursday in Parliament, in response to a question from Mixed Group MP Raúl Acosta about guarantees on payment and the return of properties as a way of incentivising owners. The minister said the programme aims to offer guarantees to both owners and tenants through an intermediation service that builds trust between the two parties and makes it easier to access homes at affordable prices.
The pool will operate on all eight inhabited islands, with in-person, mobile and online assistance, Rodríguez specified, stressing that the service will not be limited to a website or a phone line but will have offices that citizens can visit. For owners, the programme will include, in addition to free non-payment insurance for three years, an assessment of tenants’ solvency, the drawing up of the contract and the property inventory, as well as legal advice and guidance on rental prices. It will also be possible to arrange aid for getting properties ready or refurbishing them, so that they are habitable and meet the requirements for offering a decent home.
Tenants, for their part, will be able to access affordable rental homes, receive advice on the Urban Leasing Act and enjoy greater security when formalising the contract, as well as a mediation service for any issues that may arise between the parties. Rodríguez also announced that the website vivacam.es is now up and running, albeit in an initial phase, so that owners can join the pool without needing to visit the offices in person.
Study of empty housing across the islands
The tender also includes a detailed study of each of the islands to determine how many empty homes there are, which are habitable and what condition they are in. The minister described this analysis as vital for understanding the reality of the unoccupied residential stock, and said it will make it possible to identify properties that could be brought into the affordable rental pool. Rodríguez explained that the study will be carried out in parallel with the rollout of the programme, and that there will be no need to wait for its conclusions before starting to recruit homes.
The minister argued that mobilising empty housing is one of the regional government’s lines of action for increasing the rental supply, in a situation where, he said, many people not only struggle to afford prices but cannot even find a property available. Finally, he indicated that the programme has been designed taking into account experiences from other autonomous communities and the mistakes detected in previous initiatives, with the aim of improving how it works and how well it is received.
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