These procedures could, however, take some time, and there is the possibility of legal challenges. The government will pay compensation of 1.8 million euros, an amount said to be 40% below the total market value.
The housing ministry has described this development, which was included in the recent housing law, as "pioneering". It takes apartments off the "speculative free market" and puts them in the hands of those who most need them.
Since Marí signed the authorisation on Tuesday, there has been reaction against the expropriation. The leader of the opposition Partido Popular, Biel Company, has described it as "a populist measure in the style of Venezuelan Chavismo (after former president Hugo Chávez)".
Company has observed that the government has adopted this policy because its housing policy has been a failure. Without entering into the political debate, a law firm - Círculo Legal Barcelona - says that the government is acting in the way that it is "because it does not have sufficient housing stock to be able to offer rentals to vulnerable groups".
Arantxa Goenaga, a partner with the firm, agrees that there could be legal challenges, adding that the government's move "brings into focus another debate in the field of constitutional rights" - that of decent housing. She suggests that the expropriation may actually contribute to lower rents. "Owners could rent at a lower prices in order to be able to keep control of the property and not allow it to go on the official registry."
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AWESOME! The owners of those properties were hoping to cashout at some point with a high margin now it’s guaranteed. If no court in Spain will rule at their favour, Strasbourg court will. Balearics taxpayers will be the ones paying the bill! Nice job! Owers are happy, taxpayers think they are happy (somoene is taking from the rich and giving to the poor) but none will notice when the poor will have to pay twice (or more) in taxes the market value of seized properties!