The State wants to incorporate 40,000 Sareb apartments into the new public housing company.

MadridThe Spanish government takes a further step to strengthen the State Housing Company (Sepes) after the legislative change that allows it to "manage and build housingThis Tuesday the Council of Ministers approved the incorporation of more than 40,000 Sareb apartments, that is to say almost all of them, into this public company, as well as 2,400 residential plots, also belonging to Sareb, with the capacity to house 55,000 apartments, according to calculations by the Ministry of Habit. in the public housing stock and is at the bottom of the list in Europe, which has fueled the crisis in housing prices and access, especially rental housing, that citizens are currently suffering. "BK_SLT_LNA" be a promise that Pedro Sánchez already made before the 2023 general electionsThe intention is to transfer these apartments from Sareb to Sepes as quickly as possible, although no specific timeline for their incorporation has been specified: "The procedure and pace of incorporation of the properties will be carried out in such a way as to allow for their proper integration into Sepes's assets, taking into account the legal capacity of both entities." This will result in additional public funds. "It is a donation to the State," he said. "BK_SLT_LNA" does not present structural defects, complies with urban planning legislation, and has adequate habitability conditions. bad bank– are toxic assets from the housing crisis (unpaid apartments) that were weighing down bank accounts and that Sareb took over to refloat financial institutions (and the economy). Beyond the possible reforms necessary over the years, some were not even finished. bad bank in its debt since 2021, until now housing remained excluded from the public housing stock.

In January, the president of the Spanish government already announced the transfer of 3,300 properties and almost 2 million square meters of residential land for the construction of social housing in the new public housing company (were assets of the general administration of the State). It was also explained that they wanted to incorporate the real estate assets currently held by Sareb, and there was talk of an "immediate incorporation" of up to 13,000 homes. However, this figure was expected to increase progressively.

Following the change at Sepes, the new public company also has priority when it comes to purchasing housing and public land.

In parallel, the Spanish government has begun a round of technical meetings with the autonomous communities to channel the state housing plan for the 2026-2030 period, which focused, among other issues, on the Conference of Regional Presidents held in Barcelona on June 6. Sources from the Ministry of Housing explain that contacts have already been held with the Basque Country, Catalonia, Navarre, Asturias, the Canary Islands, and Galicia, and that all of them have joined the Conference's minimum agreement. Specifically, these communities have agreed to triple the plan's investment (up to 7 billion euros), which means that if the State contributes 60% of the budget, they will contribute the remaining 40%. It was also agreed to permanently protect the apartments financed with these funds so that they do not leave the public housing stock and to provide more official data on the residential market.

The ministry's intention is to convene a sectoral conference to reach a joint agreement, but given the reluctance of some PP regional governments, such as the Community of Madrid, Isabel Rodríguez's office will hold negotiations on a "bilateral" basis, the same sources explain. The ministry emphasizes that the State "has the power to direct and condition the housing policies implemented with [Spanish government] funds."