The new Balearic president, Marga Prohens, has handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office the file on the purchase of 88 apartments from Metrovacesa that her predecessor, Francina Armengol, began two days before the regional elections on May 28, to allocate them to social rent. These are flats located in an area of ??Palma that is undergoing urban development.
The new Government believes that there are irregularities that justify the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate whether there is a possible crime on the part of the predecessors, although the file handed over to the Public Prosecutor does not specify any accusation. Those responsible for the previous executive deny that there are irregularities and assure that it is a move by Prohens to favor a “vulture fund”, which was the one who wanted to buy the homes.
The Balearic Islands Housing Law obliges large owners to notify the Government of any asset sale operation to another large holder so that the Executive can exercise the right of first refusal and withdrawal. That is what happened: Metrovacesa reported the sale of a building with 88 floors, car parks and storage rooms to the investment fund PKD II Terrasses on March 30 for a value of 25.8 million. On May 26, two days before the regional elections, the Government of Armengol informed the company that it would exercise the right of first refusal and retraction and would keep the flats to allocate them to social rental.
In the background of the controversy are two reports prepared by the same technician from the Balearic Housing Institute. One of them details that the operation would generate losses of 5.8 million if the Government sold the apartments, since it would be obliged to sell them at a maximum price of 2,690 euros per square meter, the price set for VPOs, when it was buying them at 3,709 euros, a surcharge of 40%.
However, in a second report, the technician details that, in the event that the homes are used for rental, the overall loss would be 573,735 euros over the 50-year term of the contract. “It does not have a favorable result in purely economic terms but its incidence in losses seems quite limited in relation to the importance of the operation”, he says. The Government has already communicated that the apartments would be for rent.
The new Government believes that the entire operation was forced with 48 hours to go before the elections and has announced that it is giving up on the purchase of the homes. In the midst of the controversy, Metrovacesa requested the precautionary suspension of the sale of the flats to the Government and a judge gave the precautionary reason. The sale had to be signed before a notary on July 5, the date on which the failed investiture of Marga Prohens was held.
The current Government believes that the previous one was going to pay an extra cost of 40% for the purchase of “luxury” homes, in the words of the current Minister of Housing, Marta Vidal. Those responsible for the former executive acknowledge that the apartments are more expensive than the amount that has been paid so far in similar operations, but they point out that this operation served to make 88 homes available to young people and would also curb speculation in the area.
In the midst of the political storm, the PSOE has requested the urgent appearance of the Minister of Housing, Marta Vidal, to explain why the investment fund that wants to make the purchase tried to contact her before she even took office .
