According to the state plan, funding of 85,000 is foreseen for each public housing unit or to boost public-private construction. The maximum rental price for protected housing will be 900 euros. If industrialization methods are used in construction, an additional aid of 8,500 euros per housing unit will be enabled, bringing the total to 93,500 euros. If this occurs in a stressed area (such as Barcelona), 8.5 billion euros can be added, reaching a maximum of 102,000.
Housing
This is the Spanish government's housing plan: 7 billion euros to be paid between the State and the autonomous communities
Prioritize the construction of new housing and the renovation of empty buildings
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3 min
MadridFirst housing plan of the Spanish government within the framework of the new housing law. This Tuesday the Council of Ministers presented the pillars of its policy to try to resolve the main problem of citizens, according to the CIS, but with the difficulty that a significant part of the competences lies with the autonomous communities. The minister of the sector, Isabel Rodríguez, has assured that the "public housing stock is protected" to prevent the investment of state funds in the construction and enablement of buildings from ending up in private hands. "Until now, the role of the general administration of the State was that of a payer, that of providing financing without being able to influence these policies," said Rodríguez, expressing the will to intervene in the autonomous communities. The 2026-2030 Plan foresees an investment of 7,000 million euros, 60% of which would be contributed by the State and, in contrast, 40% by the autonomous communities.
However, they will not be distributed equally across the territory: in the case of Catalonia, the plan foresees the allocation of 1,015 million euros between the Generalitat (40%) and the State (60%). An increase of 473 million euros compared to the previous plan. In the case of the Community of Madrid, 1,113 million euros are outlined, which means an increase of 815 million euros. What is the reason for this difference? According to ministry sources, the increase compared to the previous plan is smaller because the Generalitat had already contributed more than 40% of resources in the plan. And it is that the fulfillment of the plan, as the data show, depends on the will of fulfillment of each autonomous community.
In this regard, it has already generated controversy. Isabel Díaz Ayuso's regional government says the new state plan "invades competencies and has not been agreed upon with the communities," despite Rodríguez having asserted that they held some 28 meetings with the regions to develop it. "Everything boils down to the fact that if you don't believe in Pedro Sánchez's interventionism, there's no money," said the Madrid Housing counselor, Jorge Rodrigo, via X. In relation to this, the Spanish government responded: "Isabel Díaz Ayuso believes she harms the government when she doesn't apply the law, but she is harming a million and a half people who live by renting. Today their rents could be frozen if the president of Madrid applied the rent cap," lamented the minister, adding that they would be "surprised" if they were left out of the plan because it would mean running out of resources to allocate to housing matters.
And the distribution of the plan's funds is "subject" to a commitment of "execution" by the autonomous communities in three areas: building new homes, rehabilitating the existing stock, and protecting citizens' right to housing above speculation". The idea is that of the resources, 40% will be allocated to construction, 30% to rehabilitation, and 30% to aid. The guarantee that the State government says it has to achieve more housing investment is the "semestral control" over the communities regarding the execution of works and the condition of continuing to receive money based on progress.
Measures to increase the housing stock
Housing Construction
Affordable rental promotion
In order to expand the public housing stock with already built homes, 70% financing is made available to the autonomous communities to acquire housing through pre-emption and redemption rights. This can increase to 85% if it is in a stressed area, with a maximum rent of 800 euros. Conversely, individuals who lease their apartments to the administration for affordable rental will receive aid of up to 17,000 euros, 25,000 if it is housing in a stressed area, so that the autonomous community can make it available to citizens. A maximum rent of 600 euros can be charged. Once the contract is finished, the administration must return the apartment to the owner in "optimal condition." An additional aid of 12,000 euros is foreseen if the housing is rehabilitated, a measure intended for rural areas where the maximum number of empty homes is concentrated. Also for rural areas, aid of 35,000 euros is foreseen for the rehabilitation of buildings if they are made available for affordable rental for a minimum of five years.
Aid for young people
Regarding young people, an aid of 300 euros is planned for those under 35 years of age to pay rent; and 15,000 euros in aid to purchase property in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants. This aid can reach up to 20,000 euros if the town loses population. In the case of women victims of gender-based violence, the administration will cover rent up to a maximum of 1,000 euros; and aid for vulnerable individuals of 250 euros to pay rent.
The "public park" shielding"
Another novelty presented by Minister Rodríguez is the introduction of "controls" and "transparency". According to the Spanish government, the plan incorporates a "shield" for public and protected housing so that "it cannot be speculated with". "In the last 45 years, 2.7 million protected homes have been built, but most of them were declassified over the years," says the ministry; if they had been kept within the public stock —they assure— Spain would have a stock similar to European standards.
At the same time, an anti-fraud clause is also introduced in the allocation of public housing to avoid cases like those in Alicante. With what measures? According to the plan, they will be allocated with "objective, measurable and transparent criteria". In terms of transparency, they also want to guarantee that there is public data and reduce discourses "based on fake news" and for this they will ask the autonomous communities to send them "information on rental contracts in the community's deposit registry". This measure, they believe, "will facilitate real-time information on the number of current rentals, their price, the turnover of tenants, and the current offer".
The implementation calendar for the housing plan is as follows: this April, the State and the communities are to meet to discuss the implementation of the plan; a sectoral conference to approve the distribution of funds; and finally, the deployment of measures between June and September of this year.
