Rebuilding the homes buried by the Tajogaite eruption stalls in Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso

Replacement sites still only half built

The wound left by the Tajogaite volcano remains open across the residential landscape of western La Palma. According to sources in the island's construction sector, of the more than 1,300 homes buried by lava between 2021 and early 2022 in districts of Los Llanos de Aridane such as La Laguna, Los Campitos and Todoque, only a fraction have been replaced on the substitute sites set aside by the island consortium near El Paso and Los Llanos itself. Developers quoted by property portals acknowledge that planning approval for these new residential estates, designed to rehouse affected families without uprooting them from the Aridane Valley, has moved far more slowly than promised.

Material cost overruns and a shortage of labour

Compounding the administrative delays is a marked rise in the cost of building materials, aggravated by the island's remoteness and by competition from public works to restore infrastructure. Industry sources estimate that the cost per square metre of the new schemes intended for those affected has risen by more than 25% since the first projects were approved, forcing national and regional grants to be revised upwards and leaving several families unsure whether the compensation they received will ultimately cover their new home.

Modular homes as a stopgap

While the permanent schemes are completed, dozens of households remain in the modular homes erected as an emergency measure in the first months after the eruption, on plots made available by the councils of Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso. Island social services concede that several of these temporary solutions have now been in use for longer than planned, prompting the island council to consider extending the loan of the land until stable housing is available.

A housing market strained by the rebuilding itself

The paradox, property portals operating on the island point out, is that the reconstruction is itself pushing up rents and sale prices across the rest of the Aridane Valley, since it concentrates demand both from those who lost their homes and from workers who have arrived for the building work. That combination goes a long way towards explaining why Los Llanos de Aridane now leads price rises across the island, according to the latest figures from sources in the Canary Islands property sector.