Subsidized housing for municipal officials: controversy in Alicante City Council

ValenciaOne apartment for the Councilor for Urban Planning, Rocío Gómez; others for both children and the nephew of the Director General of Internal Organization, Public Procurement, and Fund Management, María Pérez-Hickman; one more for the municipal architect, Francisco Nieto; and the last one for the wife of the Housing Department technician who validated the applications. This would be the provisional tally of the controversial allocation of subsidized public housing to several municipal officials in Alicante City Hall.

The scandal has been aggravated by reports of the rental and sale of properties in highly desirable locations on Sant Joan beach, complete with a swimming pool, gym, and paddle tennis courts. So much so, that an extraordinary plenary session dedicated to the matter will be held at 5:00 PM this Thursday, as demanded by the opposition groups, who have already secured the resignations of Gómez and Pérez-Hickman.

So far, the Valencian Regional Government and the City Council – both governed by the PP (People's Party) – have tried to shirk any responsibility and have referred the investigation to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The latest to do so was the First Vice President and Minister of Housing, Susana Camarero, who confirmed the lack of documentation in "some" of the files of the 140 recipients, who may not meet the required criteria. Specifically, they have not provided information on the assets and income of the family unit, claiming that there is a separation of property when in reality the law requires the inclusion of documentation for all cohabitants. This is a key element, given that the criteria for granting the housing are that the beneficiaries do not own another home, that the allocated apartment is used as their primary residence, and that the annual income of the family unit does not exceed €54,600.

The official himself

According to Camarero, all the cases share the common denominator of having been processed and supervised by the official himself. The public employee, who has been temporarily suspended without pay, even endorsed the awarding of one of the homes to his own wife, a municipal architect, neglecting his duty to recuse himself and concealing relevant information about the household to which he belongs. The vice president explained that the official, whom she described asblack sheepShe also approved other applications without the spouse's financial information. In light of these events, the Generalitat (Catalan government) has announced it will review all cases.

The councilor also addressed another aspect of the scandal: complaints about the rental—with monthly payments up to €1,600—and sale—with prices reaching half a million euros, half of it in cash—of the apartments, despite regulations prohibiting such transactions. According to Camarero, of the 140 properties, the Generalitat has received only one request to sell and three rental applications. Regarding her response, she emphasized that rentals will only be authorized if the legal requirements are met. These requirements include having an employment contract abroad or caring for dependents in another city.

For its part, the Alicante City Council has also maintained that its role is limited to "selling the land at an appraised price" to real estate developers and that these developers are responsible for ensuring compliance with the allocation criteria. However, the council did not clarify what information it had when it commissioned an internal report from the Local Asset Management Service, which on January 27th warned of possible "conflicts of interest" in the allocation of the apartments regarding municipal employees and officials who may have participated in the process. Specifically, there were some individuals who had family ties or other connections with City Council employees or officials who may have participated in relevant phases of the process.

Given the magnitude of the controversy, Compromís has called for a commission of inquiry in the Valencian Parliament (Les Corts) to clarify why "people with salaries of almost 70,000 euros" are benefiting from public housing. For their part, United Left and Podemos have directly called on the Valencian government to raise the income threshold for those eligible for subsidized public housing to €54,600 annually by 2024, potentially reaching €66,300 if certain requirements are met.