Las Bajas Settlement Reopens After Five-Year Closure Amid Legal and Structural Decay
The Las Bajas settlement in Güímar has reopened after a five-year closure, but residents face significant challenges due to property decay, ongoing legal disputes, and the long-term impact of administrative mismanagement.
The Las Bajas settlement in Güímar has finally reopened after being closed for five years, highlighting the ongoing struggle to balance geological safety with legal regulations along the Canary Islands' coastline. As reported by El Día, the local City Council has granted conditional access to these cave houses. However, this is far from a return to normal; the area has suffered significant social and physical decay since the initial evictions in March 2021.
The return of residents has been a slow and difficult process. Of the roughly twenty families who were told they would only be displaced for a few months, only a few have chosen to move back. They are returning to a site marred by neglect and coastal erosion, with damaged roofs and walkways. This deterioration, combined with the loss of the community’s original connection to the area, raises serious questions about whether the settlement can truly function as a permanent home again.
This situation is the result of a long-standing administrative and legal dispute. The project, which had an initial budget of 342,685 euros, became the subject of lawsuits after work stopped in August 2021. By that time, the certified costs had already climbed to over one million euros. A court ruling in favor of the contractor for non-payment highlights the mismanagement that kept residents out of their homes for five years—far longer than the local government originally promised.
Beyond the physical state of the houses, there is a major legal hurdle: the status of the properties in relation to public coastal land. Nine repossession cases are still working their way through the courts, creating a layer of uncertainty for any future development. While Mayor Carmen Luisa Castro’s administration officially lifted the access restrictions on May 12, the future of Las Bajas remains tied up in legal battles and the reality that many former residents have already moved on and rebuilt their lives elsewhere.