The pressing housing issue in the Canary Islands, characterized by high prices and prohibitive rents, stands in stark contrast to the underutilization of public resources in some municipalities. A clear example is the eight VPO units in Los Realejos which, since their construction in 2005, have not been permanently inhabited, reflecting significant neglect and institutional disorganization.
These eleven homes, located on Tindaya Street in La Cruz Santa, were built by the former public housing company of the Los Realejos City Council, Vivire. They featured modern amenities for their time, including three bedrooms, a garage, and solar panels. Despite their potential, they were never consistently occupied. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that, before every local election since 2007, the properties were spruced up, only to fall back into disuse after the polls.
These houses have been occupied by Social Services users in all or almost all cases temporarily due to situations of special need.
Repeated complaints about this situation by parties like Izquierda Unida (IU) for years failed to change the scenario until 2022, when the local government transferred the eleven houses to the Regional Department of Public Works and Housing. However, according to close sources, only three of these homes have been used occasionally for forced evictions, gender violence cases, or other social emergencies. The remaining eight have stayed empty, accumulating 21 years of inactivity amidst a housing emergency in Spain and, particularly, in the Canary archipelago.
While the Regional Department, led by Pablo Rodríguez, has not provided its version, the Los Realejos government has indicated that the houses have been temporarily occupied by Social Services users in situations of need. Nevertheless, this explanation does not address the long-term use expected of VPO units, and the city council itself is unaware of the fate of the homes since their transfer to the Government of the Canary Islands.
