Balearic government rules out limits on buying second homes

What happened

During question time in the Balearic Parliament on Tuesday 13 October 2026, the regional minister for mobility, housing and territorial planning, José Luis Mateo, answered a question from Ferran Rosa, an MP for Més per Mallorca, who asked whether the government would do anything to stop property speculation. Ara Balears reported that Mateo answered mainly by criticising the record of the previous left-wing government. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, he also said the government would not adopt restrictive measures such as limiting the purchase of second homes, and that any restrictions discussed at EU level should be proportionate, temporary and a last resort.

The same report says Mateo pointed instead to existing measures aimed at residents: a five-year residence requirement for social and price-controlled housing, and a programme to bring empty and former holiday-let homes onto the long-term rental market. In September 2026, answering an earlier question from Rosa on second homes, Mateo had said the Govern would study measures arising from new EU housing rules only if they fit the legal framework in force.

The opposition proposals

On 10 October 2026, Més per Mallorca registered a non-legislative motion in the Parlament with around fifteen housing measures. They include a moratorium on building luxury homes, higher transfer tax on buying property for non-residential use, a call on the national government to ban home purchases by non-residents, and declaring the Balearic Islands a stressed housing market so that rent controls could apply. A non-legislative motion is a request to the government. It does not change the law even if it passes, and the Govern has said it will not limit second-home purchases.

What it means for buyers

Nothing has changed for buyers. Anyone, resident or not, can buy a home in Mallorca, and there is no purchase-tax surcharge for non-residents: see buying costs and taxes. The real limits on how you use a second home come from other rules, above all the near-closure of new holiday-let registrations, explained in holiday rental licences. Buyers looking at rustic land should also know the planning limits covered in buying a finca.