Dozens of people in La Palma still live in emergency housing, five years after the Tajogaite eruption ended. Around 60 modular and prefabricated homes remain occupied, while reconstruction across the affected area stands at roughly 60%. A housing shortage is making it harder for families to leave temporary accommodation or rebuild homes destroyed by lava.
The figures show how long the recovery has taken. The eruption began on 19 September 2021 and lasted 85 days, ending on 13 December. Lava covered 1,219 hectares and destroyed 2,988 buildings, including 1,345 homes. About 2,000 residents lost their houses. The disaster also affected 370 hectares of crops and more than 70 kilometres of roads. Around 1,600 gas sensors now operate in areas affected by volcanic emissions, sending readings in real time to help determine which buildings can safely be used again.
In Los Llanos de Aridane, 39 of the 85 containers installed after the disaster still house residents. Other displaced people remain in the wooden homes in El Paso. These units were intended as short-term shelter, but some families have now lived in them for five years.
A new public housing block in Los Llanos is expected to provide 53 homes by December 2026. Authorities plan to give priority to people still living in containers and prefabricated houses. Plans reported for La Palma also include 27 additional homes in El Paso and 16 in Tazacorte, alongside other developments meant to move families out of temporary accommodation.
That will not resolve every case. Goretti Álvarez says her 97-year-old mother depends on a wheelchair-adapted container. She lives there with another daughter, who provides daily support. They will consider moving only if both women can stay together in a suitable permanent home.
Rebuilding has slowed because there are not enough builders and other skilled workers. Land and construction materials have become more expensive, and demand has overwhelmed the professionals available on the island. For families who received compensation, the problem goes beyond the amount paid: they still need to find a plot and hire workers before they can restore their homes.
Compensation has caused another dispute. Juan Fernando Pérez Martín of the Plataforma de Afectados por la Erupción del Volcán Cumbre Vieja 2021 says payments from the central and Canary governments were initially slow to arrive. In his case, a private valuation put the value of his adapted home in Todoque at 550,000 euros. The administration used a figure of 374,000 euros. He says the difference leaves him unable to replace what he lost.
The Parliament of the Canary Islands unanimously approved the Ley de Volcanes in September 2025, the first Spanish law of its kind. It aims to provide sufficient aid and speed up economic recovery after a volcanic disaster. Álvarez says the revised compensation system now takes individual circumstances into account more closely, and assistance is arriving more fairly.
The property market has moved in the opposite direction. In Los Llanos de Aridane, the average price rose from 1,358 euros per square metre in August 2021 to 2,543 euros in July 2026, information from Idealista. Before the eruption, rents commonly stood at 300 to 400 euros. They now reach about 600 to 800 euros and sometimes exceed 1,000 euros. For families already dealing with displacement, the increase can turn temporary housing into a long-term financial trap.
Some residents of Puerto Naos and La Bombilla still cannot return home. Authorities must monitor volcanic gases before properties can reopen. Local reports said authorities had authorised returns to 1,182 homes in Puerto Naos and 65 in La Bombilla by 15 September 2026. The process depends on safety protocols and continuous gas monitoring. About 1,200 of the 1,250 properties initially evacuated for that reason have been recovered. Reconstruction of the LP-2 road has passed 30% completion and is expected to finish in the first quarter of 2027.
The controlled reopening shows why recovery cannot be judged solely by counting repaired buildings. The Cabildo and other authorities use live monitoring to assess individual properties. Local media report that returns are happening gradually, with no single decision covering entire neighbourhoods.
Compensation is progressing at different speeds. Regional reports say payments have been made for between 881 and 896 primary homes. The difference reflects separate dates and stages of accounting. Roughly half of the second homes have reportedly been compensated, as have 1,005 agricultural plots. Those categories remain among the basic unresolved parts of the claims process.
Regional authorities have also begun asking residents who have already received compensation to leave container homes when an alternative is available. If occupants refuse and suitable accommodation exists, the authorities may start an eviction procedure. For families still unable to buy land or build, compensation does not automatically provide a realistic path to permanent housing.
Physical repairs have not erased the psychological damage. Pérez Martín says many affected residents still receive psychological or medical treatment. Álvarez says people on a volcanic island must make prevention part of everyday life and argues that emotional recovery needs attention long after an eruption has ended.
La Palma has repaired roads and reopened much of Puerto Naos, while replacement of emergency housing has begun. The recovery remains unfinished. The test is whether displaced residents can find stable homes without being priced out by the crisis that followed the disaster. Five years on, reconstruction is next, but those who lost the most are still waiting for normal life to become affordable.
