Balearic Islands seek to ban non-residents from buying property

Officials point to similar policy in Canada and ask Madrid to lobby EU as high prices push out local people

Officials on Spain’s Balearic Islands want to ban non-residents from buying property as soaring prices in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza drive local people out and create “ghost villages” of empty homes.

Such a move could make it impossible for foreigners to buy a holiday home in the archipelago. It follows a similar scheme in Canada, which introduced a two-year ban on property purchases by non-residents, with exceptions made for immigrants and legal residents.