“impossible” to find rental property in Estepona
As rental costs increase many people are finding it difficult to find a home to rent in much of Spain. Down here on the Costa del Sol, Marbella is also suffering from low levels of long-term rental stock. It is certainly more difficult for those on a lower budget. There are new properties being built in the area and this means although you could search for longer than planned you will probably find a suitable property. Not so in Estepona!
The Mayor of Estepona, Valentin Berrocal, said that it is “impossible” to find rental housing in the town either for long or short-term rental. When you do manage to find one it is “at exorbitant prices, well above the means of the average worker”.
Bad Policy to Blame
The mayor blames the policies of the PP and its refusal to promote any new protected housing in the area. The situation is aggravated by the relatively new activity of renting rooms. This, he says requires “urgent action” from the local administration. Berrocal also pointed out that since June 2011 not a single protected dwelling has been built in Estepona, neither for rent nor purchase.
This lack of supply is leading, according to Berrocal, to “serious” consequences for families who lack access to property and do not have the economic capacity to buy one. At the same time, police officers, doctors, nurses, and teachers, amongst others, who work in Estepona are unable to live there and must travel to the town each day.
For this, and many other reasons, the mayor proposes that a Municipal Plan for Protected Housing For Sale and Rent be drafted, approved and put into operation as soon as possible. He also suggested that a new plan be drafted to create some level of municipal control of the legal compliance of those who were renting out a room in their house, something which is currently completely unregulated.
