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UD Las Palmas made a glorious comeback to the First Division in a thrilling encounter against Deportivo Alavés that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle. In front of a raucous near-capacity-crowd of 31,790, Las Palmas sealed their return ticket to the top flight with a hard-fought goalless draw in the season’s photo finish.
What an interesting last weekend of May ahead. Weather predictions are showing some rain showers are likely across Gran Canaria. This extended #WeekendTips covers up to Tuesday, when all things Canarian are celebrated on the Día de Canarias. There’ll be some gorgeous Patron Saints’ festivities happening in San Fernando de Maspalomas as well as in Valleseco.
Fun Fact:
Valleseco literally means “dry valley” in Spanish, but is actually one of the wettest municipalities Gran Canaria. Nestling between the famous fresh water sources of Firgas & Teror, half way up the island’s mountainous northern slopes, this area is well known for its apple growers, cider and its weekly market
The authorities on Gran Canaria have been engaged in a rigorous search for Swedish tourist Anna-Karin Bengtsson, who went missing in the south of Gran Canaria around April 9. Her unexplained disappearance has caused her family much distress, with no clues to her whereabouts having emerged in the six weeks since they first realised her phone was no longer functioning.
An exciting May weekend ahead with abundant events and festivities taking place all around Gran Canaria. There are Patron Saints’ festivities for Motor Grande, in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria, and in El Tablero in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana and up in the mountains of Artenara. There is also a two day lively exhibition event in Meloneras boulevard and the Rally Gran Canaria is held this Friday and Saturday.
The body of a 58-year-old German man was found this Friday floating just off the coast of Mogán, on the south-west of Gran Canaria.
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The Canary Islands Government Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing, Sebastián Franquis, has said this Tuesday that his Executive is working on legal measures to help prevent “skyrocketing” evictions from “spiking” on the islands once the state of alarm is again officially de-escalated this coming May 9.
In response to a question from Sí Podemos in the parliamentary committee, he commented that there is “concern” within the regional Government due to the demand for housing having been “radicalised” during the pandemic, and so the scope of the autonomous community is being reviewed to try to find solutions.
Franquis detailed that the Government has already enabled €20 million in rental aid and has exempted €2.7 million from having to be paid in public housing, with the objective to deliver all pending aid before May 9 and help to prevent skyrocketing evictions.
To do this, last week the Regional Governing Council approved the hiring of 32 extra people to work on the implementation of the Housing Plan and streamline aid, and it is expected that over the next 10 days another 588 applications will be granted to add to the 1,420 that have already been delivered.
The spokesman for Sí Podemos, Manuel Marrero, commented when the state of alarm ends “a new difficult to contain front may be opened” producing an “avalanche” of evictions because the economic situation “is getting worse” and many ERTE recipients may end up being converted to ERE.
“The situation could be serious,” he commented, because the payment of rent for many homes is at risk, which is why he has asked for the aid to be expedited as much as possible.
“It is a priority that social rent arrives as soon as possible and evictions are not allowed without a housing alternative,” he pointed out, defending the way opened by the Balearic Government who have decided to expropriate empty apartments to put them on the market or the Paris City Council, which has multiplied the tax on vacant properties by a factor of three.
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The Canary Islands Government Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing on Friday presented their new rental assistance aid package for 2020-21, through the Canarian Institute of Housing, with a budget of €17.5m in financing collaboration with the Ministry of Mobility, Transport and Urban Agenda. The subsidy is intended to guarantee access to rental housing for the most vulnerable sectors of the population in the Canary Islands as well as young people who wish to access their first properties. The applications call for this benefit package has been launched this Monday January 18, and is one of the first new Housing Plan of the Canary Islands 2020-25 programs to be implemented.
The main recipients of this aid will be people of legal age and residents in Spain who have a rental contract for a home in the Canary Islands and who meet the stipulated rental price limits and certain income conditions. Within the applicant profiles, this aid will prioritise large or single-parent families; coexistence units that include victims of gender violence or coexistence units that include people with functional diversity, or registered disability, to a degree equal to or greater than 33%.
Sebastián Franquis from the Canary Islands Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing said “We are launching one of the most important programs for the Canary Islands Housing Plan because we not only build and rehabilitate housing, we also help families who are in a situation of social and economic vulnerability to pay part of their rent, and we are aware that the demand for housing in the Canary Islands is much higher ”.
The rental Assistance aid package subsidies will be divided into two lines of aid, on the one hand, for general rent and for those over 65 for which the government can subsidise up to 40% of the rent, or 50% in the event that all the people in the family unit are over 65 years of age. On the other hand, there are rental subsidies available for people under 35 years of age, who may be subsidised up to 50% of their rent for the property and, exceptionally, dependent persons over 35 years of age who may live in it.
Those who qualify as beneficiaries can be subsidised on rental receipts for the period starting January 1, 2020 through until December 31, 2021. Franquis recalled that “it will be an essential requirement” to indicate in the application for these grants, which of the two types is being applied for (general rental aid and for those over 65 years of age or aid for those under 35 years of age) to be able to proceed with assessment by the Canarian Housing Institute (ICAVI).
In order to apply for this aid, the income of the coexistence unit must be equal to or less than 3 times the IPREM (Public Indicator of Multiple Effects Income) except for certain specific cases, such as large families or those with members with functional diversity, where the income allowable may reach 4 or 5 times the IPREM.
Request method
Applications for the rental assistance aid package can be submitted starting from January 18 through to March 5 both in person and online through the Canarian Housing Institute or at the offices of the Canarian Chambers of Commerce, with which an agreement has been reached for the provision of services for this applications call for rental assistance. Faced with the current Covid-19 health crisis and in order to achieve agile and efficient processing, the ICAVI will prioritise telematic applications for which wide coverage of care has already been prepared. For this modality, anyone who do not have an electronic signature certificate or electronic ID can register without difficulty using the “Cl@ve Permanente” system or by calling 012, dependent on the Government of the Canary Islands, to request this process.
In the event that face-to-face presentation is chosen, it will preferably take place at the offices of the Canarian Chambers of Commerce or the Canary Islands Housing Institute (ICAVI) upon request for a prior appointment by calling 012, or at any of the records provided for in the regulations of the administrative procedure. General information, on the form and presentation of applications, can be obtained on the ICAVI website (https://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/vivienda/), by calling 012, or at the Canary Islands Chambers of Commerce.
The participation of the Chamber of Commerce is part of an agreement signed with the four chamber organisations in the Archipelago that establishes that the Chambers will be collaborating entities for the provision of collection services for the requests of citizens who demand general rental assistance, expanding the staff and technical resources for the Canarian Housing Institute.
Franquis pointed out that the Government of the Canary Islands “is working on a preliminary project, which is being developed by the Ministry of Social Services, where it is foreseen that within the “Income for Citizenship” a supplement for housing will be created,” adding that “the objective is for this aid to form part of that complement, therefore, it could be the last call for this subsidy, since it is desirable that it becomes an economic benefit that is paid monthly.”
There are many who provide services and help to the English Speaking community when trying to negotiate paperwork and social services applications. We do not hesitate in recommending Nicky Gordon of Ask Nicky, who has shown her commitment and effectiveness in assisting non-Spanish speakers in trying to navigate through often confusing procedures, she is professional, well connected, honest and charges only a modest fee. Why not give her a call or contact her through her Facebook page…
https://www.facebook.com/grancanaria.GC
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