Valencia News: Foreign Renters, Ruzafa Noise Controls & More Strikes
Bon dia! In Valencia news this week, new data shows foreign residents now dominate the city’s premium lettings sector. The biggest groups: Americans and Ukrainians. Ruzafa is in for some new noise control. Plus, doctors are set to strike this week, while teachers voted to strike in May.
City & Housing
Eight in Ten New Renters Are Foreign — and Prices Are Rising Fast
Eight out of ten new rental clients in Valencia are foreign nationals, according to data from high-end real estate agency Engel & Völkers. Americans and Ukrainians are among the most prominent groups. The surge in international demand has pushed market prices up by 20% this year, according to the agency. Valencia is also the third most desirable city in the world for digital nomads, behind only Genoa and Bari, according to a Holafly survey. Top reasons were the city’s Mediterranean quality of life, infrastructure, and established international community.
Sources:
Ocho de cada diez nuevos inquilinos en Valencia son extranjeros, según Engel & Völkers — ABC València ja és la tercera ciutat del món preferida pels nòmades digitals — Valencia Plaza
Ruzafa Becomes the City’s Fifth Noise-Controlled Zone
The Ayuntamiento has formally designated Ruzafa a ZAS — a saturated acoustic zone. This means imposing new operating restrictions on bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and 24-hour convenience stores selling alcohol. Nightclubs now face earlier closing times. Plus, bars and restaurants must shut by midnight, extending to 1:30 am during the summer. The designation also freezes new licences for terrace expansions in the area. Ruzafa is the fifth neighbourhood to receive ZAS status in Valencia, following El Carmen and Plaza Xúquer, among others.
Source: Russafa será ZAS: el recorte horario de terrazas, tiendas 24h y discotecas comenzará el próximo mes — Valencia Plaza ·
Turning illegal occupation into a negotiation tactic
Levante-EMV reported that some squatters in Valencia have turned illegal occupation into a structured negotiation. In one case, squatters reportedly demanded between €3,000 and €5,000 from property owners to vacate.
Source: Los okupas cobran en Valencia entre 3.000 y 5.000 euros por abandonar la casa — Levante-EMV
Huerta Conversion Plans Draw Pushback
Valencia’s municipal government proposed that sections of huerta farmland in Empalme and Valencia Sud be converted into hotels and sports facilities. Opponents are pushing back on the use of agricultural land within the metropolitan area for commercial construction.
Source: València permetrà convertir alqueries en hotels i crear allotjaments turístics en horta degradada — Levante-EMV
Cabanyal Demolition Stalls
The Ayuntamiento has delayed a decision on demolishing the Casitas Rosas — the deteriorating pink public housing towers in Cabanyal that have become associated with drug dealing in the area. Disputes over relocating residents and disagreements over proposed replacement housing have stalled the process for years, and local reports say the drug trade in the area has increased in the meantime.
Source: El ayuntamiento duda si demoler las Casitas Rosas mientras crece el hastío vecinal — Levante-EMV
City & Politics
Regularisation Window Opens to Long Queues
Spain’s new migrant regularisation process overwhelmed the Ayuntamiento, post offices, and other administrative offices last week. Valencia’s mayor announced she would hire 30 more emergency staff to clear the backlog, and would bill the national government for the extra expense.
Sources:
Largas colas y trabas en la expedición de informes el primer día presencial de regularización — Valencia Plaza
Two Strikes Loom: Doctors Walk Out Today, Teachers in May
Valencia’s public health system is under pressure this week as doctors began a four-day strike today, running through Thursday. The action will affect public healthcare appointments across the region, with the main protest — a sit-in at Plaza de la Reina — planned for Wednesday. Doctors say patient loads regularly exceed 50 a day and staff shortages have made the system unsustainable.
Separately, unionised teachers voted last week to begin an indefinite strike on 11 May. Up to 70 percent of union members said they would participate, demanding better pay and working conditions. The strike could put the remainder of the school year in jeopardy. No agreement had been reached at the time of publication.
Sources:
Los médicos valencianos fijan cuatro días de huelga en abril: “El sistema no aguanta más” — Valencia Extra
Flood Victims Protest; Mazón Prosecution Question Continues
Families of victims of the October 2024 DANA flooding gathered again in Plaza Virgen on Saturday. They demanded the criminal prosecution of former Generalitat president Carlos Mazón over his handling of the emergency. The protests have now continued for more than eighteen months — the longest-running political demonstration in Valencia’s recent history. Mazón has so far avoided prosecution. His parliamentary immunity status shields him from a standard criminal trial.
Source: Nueva protesta de las víctimas de la dana: rechazan el aforamiento de Mazón, que mantiene su pulso contra la jueza — Las Provincias
25 d’Abril: Language March Ends with Graffiti at Serranos
Valencia’s annual 25 d’Abril march brought together groups across the political spectrum under the banner of Valencian language and identity. The date commemorates the 1707 Battle of Almansa, after which Valencia lost its traditional rights and privileges under Philip V. It has since become an annual occasion to assert the distinctiveness of Valencian culture and language.
Following the march, however, the plaza in front of the Torres de Serranos was graffitied with the phrase Defensa La Llengua, alongside the Catalan independence symbol, a communist hammer and sickle, and a feminist symbol. The Valencian heritage organisation Lo Rat Penat condemned the vandalism as unacceptable.
Sources:
La manifestación por el 25 d’abril suma las diferentes luchas en la Comunitat Valenciana — Valencia Plaza
Denuncian pintadas catalanistas frente a las Torres de Serranos — Las Provincias
City & Safety
Drug Network Acquittal Overturned; Illegal Streaming Chief Jailed in Spain
The Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community overturned the acquittal of more than a dozen defendants in the so-called Sky Case this week, ruling that encrypted Sky ECC communications are admissible as evidence. The defendants had been cleared on a legal technicality; the court has now ordered a retrial and sentencing on the basis of the resubmitted evidence. The network stands accused of smuggling hundreds of kilos of cocaine through the Port of Valencia.
In a separate case with a Spanish connection, a man convicted of running one of the world’s largest illegal streaming operations was sentenced to 23 months in prison and fined more than $10 million, according to The Athletic. While parts of the operation ran through fronts in Iran, the majority of the business was conducted through entities based in Spain. Investigators found the ringleader had spent revenues on luxury watches, cars, and properties in Spain.
Sources:
El TSJCV valida las conversaciones de Sky en la trama de narcos del Puerto de Valencia y revoca la absolución — Las Provincias
Illegal streaming ringleader fined £7.5m and jailed after eight-year investigation — The Athletic
Sexual Assault Investigation Opened After Foreign Woman Found Near Gandia Beach
National Police in Gandia opened an investigation into the sexual assault of a foreign woman who was found in a state of apparent distress near the beach by a resident. Police confirmed the victim is a foreign national and is reported to be a prominent figure on social media internationally, but did not confirm her identity. The investigation was ongoing at the time of publication.
Source: La Policía Nacional investiga la agresión sexual en Gandia a una tik-toker internacional — Levante-EMV
City & Culture
Fallas 2027 Bans the Mojito Truck; TastArros Crowns an Outsider
The Central Fallera Board met this week and approved a raft of changes for Fallas 2027, responding to complaints that this year’s record-breaking festival made daily life in the city centre unworkable. Mojito trucks will be banned outright. Fallas tents will be positioned later in the build-up period to keep streets open for longer, and no new terrace or venue expansion licences will be issued in affected zones during the festival. A mascletà cancelled due to rain during this year’s fiesta has also been rescheduled to Saturday, 2 May at 9 pm to mark Mother’s Day.
At TastArros, Valencia’s annual celebration of rice held at Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the “Rice of the Future” award went this year to Fisgón — a restaurant with roots in Extremaduran cuisine. Their winning dish featured pig’s head, onion, and rosemary mayonnaise. Traditionalists maintain that a true paella means chicken, rabbit, and sometimes snails; TastArros has once again rewarded something else entirely.
Sources:
Cambios en las Fallas 2027: adiós a las paradas de mojitos, novedades en la Crida, la Ofrenda y el montaje de las carpas — elperiodic.com
Una «paella extremeña» conquista Valencia: el restaurante Fisgón se lleva el premio Arrocero del Futuro del Tastarròs — Las Provincias
Source of the Week: Levante-EMV v Las Provincias
Valencia has two main Spanish-language papers of record that focus on local news — and both claim the top spot. Levante-EMV reported last month that it has surpassed 1.5 million unique digital users, edging ahead of rival Las Provincias, though the two titles have traded the lead over the years. Other significant sources of local news include Informació and Mediterráneo. Pont de València draws on all of them.
