Europe | Scarce as houses

Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage

Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply

Demonstrators march, shouting slogans against tourists in Barcelona
Housing non-solutionsPhotograph: AP

Alicia Bocuñano, a taxi driver, was living in a van in an encampment of hundreds of people on the outskirts of Ibiza town last year when the police came to force them out after neighbours complained. The eviction was chaotic: families scrambled to collect belongings, and children cried as their parents pleaded with officers. Ms Bocuñano had been homeless since her landlord doubled her rent. Now she is waiting for the next eviction.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Scarce as houses”

From the January 18th 2025 edition

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