€1,390 average rent drives the 11 November general strike

Today's essentials (4 key points)

• The Balearic Economic and Social Council (CES) calls the islands Spain's "most vulnerable region" for rent prices in its 2025 annual report, and rents in Ibiza rose 40% between 2015 and 2022.
• Open-Meteo forecasts overcast skies across the Balearic Islands today, with temperatures between 17 and 24 degrees, and Meteoalarm has a yellow rain warning in place for Ibiza and Formentera.
• Esquerra de Menorca has tabled a bill in the Balearic Parliament asking Congress to make free public bus travel permanent and to guarantee its funding.
• A UK crackdown on hidden airline fees could save families up to £104 per return trip, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, although Ryanair denies charging any such fees.

Today's essentials

€1,390 average rent drives the 11 November general strike. CCOO and UGT, Spain's two largest unions, have called a 24-hour general strike for Wednesday 11 November 2026 over access to housing and wages. According to Última Hora, the average rent in the Balearic Islands went from 725 euros in 2020 to 1,390 euros in 2025.

El Diario de Madrid says this will be the first joint general strike by CCOO and UGT since 14 November 2012, 14 years ago. Naiz confirms that the CGT and the regional unions CIG, ELA and LAB back the strike, as do several tenants' groups. In Palma, UGT and CCOO have already held a rally outside the Balearic Parliament in support of the strike, Última Hora reports. Pedro Homar, secretary general of UGT Baleares, called the housing situation one of "maximum deterioration" and said his union wants to lead the movement as well as join it.

The timing matters. The strike falls 18 days before the snap general election of Sunday 29 November 2026. El Economista reports that Pedro Sánchez called the election on 5 October after Congress rejected two housing decrees, and the call was published in the BOE on 6 October. The official campaign runs from 13 to 27 November, with a day of reflection on 28 November. The unions say the strike has nothing to do with the election calendar. Última Hora's editorial, however, voices a "reasonable suspicion" that they will go into the campaign with housing as their main argument.

The figures behind the anger come from several outlets. Última Hora puts the average rent in Palma at more than 1,580 euros. Economía de Mallorca adds that in August 2026 the average Balearic rent reached 20.13 euros per square metre per month, 5.6% higher than a month earlier and 5.4% higher than a year earlier, which places the islands ahead of Málaga and Alicante among Spain's tightest rental markets. Euribor.com.es puts the purchase price close to 4,000 euros per square metre. Menorca.info, citing the PSOE, reports that more than 25,000 rental contracts signed during the pandemic expire in 2026 and affect over 70,000 people, though no other source has confirmed these figures. The same outlet says the PP-led Govern balear acknowledges a housing emergency but refuses to declare the islands a stressed rental market zone, because it believes the measure would take homes off the market.

What this changes for you: if you rent in the islands, check your lease's end date and renewal terms now, especially if you signed it in 2020 or 2021. No specific Balearic protests, times or sectors have been confirmed yet for 11 November, so keep an eye out for updates closer to the day before planning travel or appointments. Only Spanish citizens can vote in the general election, but the housing debate will shape the campaign that opens on 13 November, according to El Economista.

Weather today

Grey skies, 17 to 24 degrees. According to Open-Meteo, the Balearic Islands will be overcast today, with temperatures between 17 and 24 degrees and winds of up to 24 km/h, so take a light layer and an umbrella if you are heading to Ibiza or Formentera.

Transport & traffic

• Mallorca's road that loops over itself. A photo of the Nus de sa Corbata (the "tie knot") is doing the rounds on Reddit's r/mallorca forum: it is the spot on the Sa Calobra road in the Serra de Tramuntana where the road passes over itself. The bend is one of the best-known landmarks of the Ma-2141 down to Sa Calobra, and it is a popular drive with visitors and cyclists. The road is narrow and full of hairpins, and coaches, cars and riders all share it, so if you plan to drive it, go early, take it slowly and expect to give way often on the tightest turns.

What's changing for you

• Ibiza rents rose 40% in seven years. The Balearic Islands are "the most vulnerable region" in Spain when it comes to rent prices, according to the Balearic Economic and Social Council (CES) in its 2025 annual report, and Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera reports that rents in Ibiza rose 40% between 2015 and 2022. If you rent in Ibiza or are looking for a place there, use this as a benchmark: compare several offers before you sign, read the renewal clause closely, and set aside money for possible increases when your contract ends.

Local news to know

• Menorca party wants free buses written into law. Esquerra de Menorca has tabled a bill in the Balearic Parliament asking Congress to end the yearly uncertainty over free public transport and to guarantee its funding permanently, Menorca (Es Diari) writes.
• Ibiza's clubs recognised as culture. In its 2025 annual report, the Balearic Economic and Social Council (CES) argues that nightlife is an essential part of Ibiza's culture and cites the club [UNVRS] as an example, according to Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera.
• £104 airline fee saving, Ryanair objects. A UK crackdown on hidden airline fees could save families up to £104 per return trip, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports. Ryanair denies that such family fees exist, and its CEO Michael O'Leary dismissed the announcement as "everyday spin".
• Yellow rain warning for Ibiza and Formentera. Meteoalarm has issued a yellow-level rain warning for Ibiza and Formentera. It advises residents to follow the latest forecasts and warns of possible moderate damage in exposed areas.