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Hours after the Popular Party (PP) announced its housing measures for the areas in Spain where it is the local ruling party, including tax cuts to facilitate young people's access to housing and protect homeowners, Pedro Sánchez announced the national government's proposals on Monday at the closing ceremony of the forum 'Housing: Fifth Pillar of the Welfare State', held at the railway museum in Madrid.
These are, one by one, the measures put forward to face the challenge of "not becoming a society divided between rich landlords and poor tenants", in the PM's words, and which are viewed as an obstacle to the emancipation of young people and even to the birth rate. Sánchez has summed them up under three objectives: more housing, better regulation and more aid.
New housing
- Housing and land transfers to the new company formed to manage public housing. Central government has just transferred more than 3,300 homes and almost 2 million square metres of residential land to build affordable social housing. This public company will take on 13,000 Sareb (often called 'the bad bank' as it was formed by the state to take on the bad debts from lending banks following the 2008 crash) dwellings immediately and a further 17,000 dwellings progressively.
- This new entity will have priority in the purchase of housing and land, in addition to the rights afforded to each region in Spain.
- Bonding of public housing. A legal mechanism is established to ensure that all state-built housing remains in public ownership indefinitely.
- Launch of a housing 'Perte' (government-led strategic projects for economic recovery) to lead the way for innovation and modernisation of industrialised and modular construction in Spain, so the country can build more houses in less time and at lower costs. It will be developed first in the province of Valencia to contribute to the reconstruction of the local economy after the 'Dana' storm damage.
Existing housing
- Creation of a system of public guarantees that will protect both landlords and tenants. Sánchez's government will provide the money so that tenants can rent and landlords can do so with guarantees. It will begin to be applied to landlords renting out to people under 35 years of age.
- New programme for the refurbishment of empty homes to make them available at affordable rents. Aid programme for people who refurbish an apartment and make it available under this affordable rental programme for a minimum of five years.
- Proposal to all MPs in the Congress of Deputies in Madrid for the approval of a new tax exemption of 100% of personal income tax (IRPF) for homeowners who rent their homes according to Serpavi (the state-run system for benchmarking rental prices, also known as the 'reference price index') without the need for them to be located in areas declared to be under stress of housing market pressure.
- Push for tax reform in the Congress of Deputies so that tourist flats are taxed as a business, including the application of IVA sales tax in those areas where there are difficulties in accessing housing or which are already reaching saturation with tourist lets, "to protect citizens and find a balance between tourism and housing."
- Change in the tax regime for 'Socimis' (public, limited, listed, property investment companies) that they only apply to the development of affordable rental housing.
- Limit the purchase of housing by non-EU non-resident foreigners by increasing the tax burden in the case of purchase to 100% of the value of the property, prioritising that the available housing is for residents. According to Sánchez, "in 2023 alone, non-residents from outside the EU bought 27,000 houses and flats. Not to live in them, but mainly to speculate. To make money out of them. Something that in the context of the shortage we are living in we cannot afford.
- Tighter regulation. Creation of a fund for regional governments to prosecute fraud in seasonal rentals and the creation of a fund for regional governments and municipal authorities to strengthen inspections of illegal tourist dwellings and other fraudulent uses of housing.
- A new 'state housing plan' to be presented soon for entry into force in 2026. It will focus on young people, the elderly, people with disabilities and those living in run-down areas of the country.
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