Housing policy in Andalusia

One of the most controversial actions has been that of the Andalusian community to prevent fraud in VPO. The current law guarantees the community the possibility of repurchase, which will prevent fraud in the future but harms people who were forced to buy under previous fraudulent conditions.

Housing policy in Madrid

Subsidized housing is regularly raffled off, with the requirements normally being not to have another home in the community and to demonstrate sufficient income to pay for it. This is excluding precisely the most needy people from the VPO system and instead allows access to it to people with more than one apartment in the national territory.

Housing policy in Catalonia

The Govern approved a "Housing Law" in December 2006 that proposed fining speculators and, in serious cases, even expropriating the apartments.[4]​ It also limited the number of tenants per apartment, which for some could have the negative effect of increasing the demand for rental apartments and therefore the price (which would increase speculation).

From 2009 to 2024, several laws and a dozen[5]​ decree-laws were enacted in the autonomous community of Catalonia with the aim of addressing the serious housing problem (many of them appealed to the Constitutional Court of Spain). Among them can be citedː[6]​.

This "regulatory maelstrom"[8]​ has had the effect of a reduction (5%) in the average income of long-term rental contracts (more than one year), a decrease in supply (17%)[9]​ and a spike in the number and price of seasonal rentals (less than one year).[10]​.

In 2024, the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, promised to build 50,000 public homes until 2030.[11]​.

Another measure, loans of up to 50,000 euros to co-finance the purchase of the first home for young people up to 35 years old, has been considered ineffective and counterproductive for, predictably, raising final prices, in a report by the public policy analysis center Ivàlua.[12]​.

Housing policy in the Basque Country

The housing department of the Basque Country has inspected about 20,000 protected apartments, finding fraudulent situations in about 2,000 (10%). Of these, about 200 have already been fined, and 7 of them have been expropriated due to very serious circumstances [1].

In 2003, it launched a program to mobilize empty apartments, called Bizigune. Through this program, owners of empty homes obtain a guarantee from the Basque Government regarding payment of rent and conservation of the home. In addition, the Basque Government grants interest-free financing of up to 18,000 euros to carry out reforms. Tenants enter into a lease, paying a maximum of 30% of their income. The difference between the rent charged by the owner and that paid by the tenant is provided by the Basque Government. In July 2008 this program had already captured almost 4,500 homes [2].

Housing policy in Andalusia

One of the most controversial actions has been that of the Andalusian community to prevent fraud in VPO. The current law guarantees the community the possibility of repurchase, which will prevent fraud in the future but harms people who were forced to buy under previous fraudulent conditions.

Housing policy in Madrid

Subsidized housing is regularly raffled off, with the requirements normally being not to have another home in the community and to demonstrate sufficient income to pay for it. This is excluding precisely the most needy people from the VPO system and instead allows access to it to people with more than one apartment in the national territory.

Housing policy in Catalonia

The Govern approved a "Housing Law" in December 2006 that proposed fining speculators and, in serious cases, even expropriating the apartments.[4]​ It also limited the number of tenants per apartment, which for some could have the negative effect of increasing the demand for rental apartments and therefore the price (which would increase speculation).

From 2009 to 2024, several laws and a dozen[5]​ decree-laws were enacted in the autonomous community of Catalonia with the aim of addressing the serious housing problem (many of them appealed to the Constitutional Court of Spain). Among them can be citedː[6]​.

This "regulatory maelstrom"[8]​ has had the effect of a reduction (5%) in the average income of long-term rental contracts (more than one year), a decrease in supply (17%)[9]​ and a spike in the number and price of seasonal rentals (less than one year).[10]​.

In 2024, the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, promised to build 50,000 public homes until 2030.[11]​.

Another measure, loans of up to 50,000 euros to co-finance the purchase of the first home for young people up to 35 years old, has been considered ineffective and counterproductive for, predictably, raising final prices, in a report by the public policy analysis center Ivàlua.[12]​.

Housing policy in the Basque Country

The housing department of the Basque Country has inspected about 20,000 protected apartments, finding fraudulent situations in about 2,000 (10%). Of these, about 200 have already been fined, and 7 of them have been expropriated due to very serious circumstances [1].

In 2003, it launched a program to mobilize empty apartments, called Bizigune. Through this program, owners of empty homes obtain a guarantee from the Basque Government regarding payment of rent and conservation of the home. In addition, the Basque Government grants interest-free financing of up to 18,000 euros to carry out reforms. Tenants enter into a lease, paying a maximum of 30% of their income. The difference between the rent charged by the owner and that paid by the tenant is provided by the Basque Government. In July 2008 this program had already captured almost 4,500 homes [2].