If you enter Idealista and you are looking for a home For rent in Ibiza the cheapest option right now, a 32 m2 studio in Sant Joan de Labritja with the kitchen almost at the foot of the bed, is 799 euros. And that, the ad warns, is only the price of “the winter season.” Looking ahead to spring and summer, things change. The next option, a 35 m2 studio, already costs 1,000 euros. From there up. Especially if you are looking for near Eivissa. With similar prices to many workers who keep the island’s hospitality and construction industry afloat they have no other choice than staying in cabins, shanties, vans or (hopefully) caravans.
The problem is that they are often installed in unauthorized settlements that end up dismantled by court order.
What has happened? That Ibiza has just expanded its (increasingly large) list of evicted settlements. He April 21 About twenty police officers went to the Sa Joveria site, near the Ibiza fairgrounds, to clear what was probably the largest settlement of substandard housing on the entire island. When the agents arrived there were barely any tenants left (the date of the operation was announced days before), but it is estimated that in Sa Joveria they have come to live (badly) more than 130 people who spent their daily lives in caravans, shacks, tents or vans camperized.
Just a few days later, the April 29another judicial delegation moved to Can Misses to dismantle another settlement made up of caravans, tents and shacks. The photo was similar: when the agents arrived at the lot there were hardly any people left, but not so long ago more than fifty people lived there (it is estimated that between 70 and 80), part of them bounced from a previous eviction in Can Rova. The eviction left no incidentsbut it is a new reminder of the housing challenge that Ibiza faces.
Are these the first evictions? Not at all. a few days ago Ibiza Diary took stock and counted at least half a dozen similar operations since 2024, including the last two in Sa Joveria and Can Misses. The list starts with what was probably the most dramatic episode of all: the eviction of Can Rova in the summer of 2024, when agents from the Santa Eulària police and the Civil Guard dismantled a settlement in which they lived hundreds of peopleincluding children. The episode ended with detained.
In March 2025, a similar (more peaceful) operation was carried out in Can Raspalls and in July of that same year the scene was repeated in the es Gorg and Can Rova industrial estate (again). Now the authorities have returned to act in Sa Joveria and Can Misses, among other reasons due to the fire and pest risk what the settlement entailed. “Ibiza city has a major housing problem, but the administration cannot tolerate this becoming a habit of life,” argues the mayor, Rafael Triguero.
Why is it a problem? Ibiza is not the only territory in Spain (or Europe) that deals with illegal shanty settlements. The problem is that there is a peculiarity on the island that is explained by its residential market: a good part of those who are forced to survive aboard motorhomes or vans parked in lots like Can Misses or Sa Joveria are not people at risk of ‘social exclusion’, without jobs or fixed income.
It comes with reading the local press and the interviews with evicted people to understand that construction, hospitality and tourism workers also live in the towns. People with stable jobs and payrolls that exceed 1,000 euros per month. The problem is simply that their salaries are not enough to find housing. Or what they find (rooms in shared apartments in exchange for exorbitant rents) is less attractive than the prospect of living alone in caravans or vans.
Are there testimonies? Yes. Recently The Country chatted for example with Ahmed, a 35-year-old immigrant from Western Sahara who works in a five-star hotel on the island. At least until a few weeks ago, before the eviction of Sa Joveria, at the end of his shift he returned to the cabin built with wood and cardboard that served as his home. The newspaper claims that 80% Of those who lived on the plot were Sahrawis who worked as seasonal workers in the construction and tourism sectors. Another similar case was that of Mohamed, 38 years old, installed in a tent.
Also interesting is the experience of Yamile Elisabeth, a Venezuelan who has resided in Spain since 2019. Until her eviction, explains to elDiariolived in a van in Can Misses for which he paid 550 euros a month. “When you look for a rental, they easily ask for 1,000 euros and three or four months’ deposit to share a small space with five other people,” the woman clarifieswho claims that he works several hours a day cleaning a bank branch, although in reality he has training as a physiotherapist and last summer he earned 1,600 euros by working six days.
Is housing that expensive? Not only is housing becoming more expensive in Ibiza, but there are a number of factors that have put special strain on its market. The first is its status as an island, with limited space. The second, its enormous demand for tourist accommodation, which even leads some homeowners to abandon them in summer (they temporarily move into caravans) to rent to visitors.
The result is prohibitive income for many workers, including civil servants. Three years ago, in fact, the case of a firefighter at Ibiza airport who was forced to settle in a caravan was reported. “The only solution to save some money”, recognized the man, of Andalusian origin, in an interview with laSexta.
Is there more? Yes. The problem, as remember our colleagues Motorpassionthe thing is that living in a caravan on the island is not that simple either… or economical. Laws like the 5/2024 vehicle control or that of the Rustic Land of the Balearic Islands make up a legal framework that must be respected by those who decide to settle permanently in a caravan or camper.
In fact, the new Balearic regulations require those who want to travel to Ibiza with campers or motorhomes to have a reservation at an official campsite. The problem is that the number of regulated facilities is limited, they tend to fill up and their rates are not cheap, with prices ranging from 40 to 60 euros per night.
Given this situation and to avoid illegal settlements, there are city councils that are already deploying control campaigns with the help of drones. This is the case of Sant Antoni de Portmany, which a few days ago reported that it has activated a surveillance network to detect “irregular settlements.” So that they do not miss wooded areas or areas with difficult access, they have the help of a drone.
Images | Motorpasión-Unsplash and Mike Swigunski (Unsplash)
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