The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved a new State Housing Plan, which will be in force until 2030. The plan arrived four months late because the government decided to delay its approval date in order to finalize the agreement with the autonomous communities and incorporate some of their proposals into the final text. Among its key measures are various types of rental assistance for young people, incentives for housing renovation, expansion and permanent protection.
Plan budget and funding distribution
As announced last September, the State Housing Plan, the first approved since the adoption of the Housing Act, has a budget of 7 billion euros, which is three times the amount of the previous plan. Of this amount, the state will assume 60%, and the autonomous communities will have to contribute the remaining 40% (previously their contribution was 25%).
This has become one of the main points of friction between the central government and the autonomous communities responsible for housing policy. According to the regional authorities, led by the People’s Party (PP), such a funding requirement violates the principle of equality of Spaniards and the principle of autonomy, which led to characterize the new housing plan as “ideological”.
This amount of 7 billion euros will be distributed between three main items: at least 40% has been decided to be allocated to constant increase in the supply of social housing – be it through construction or property acquisition – while another 30% goes to the reconstruction of existing housing stock with the help of special subsidies, and the remaining 30% goes to measures such as helping youth gain independence, reducing financial burdens and government intervention in problem areas.
Five main directions of the new housing plan
The new Housing Plan is built around five main areas:
- encouraging the construction and acquisition of public housing;
- renovations to improve efficiency and accessibility;
- development of special support programs to reduce the age of emancipation of young people;
- reduction of financial burden to ensure access to housing;
- correcting the situation in areas with tight markets, where there are the greatest difficulties in accessing housing.
Support for youth and vulnerable groups
Among the innovations included in the new State Housing Plan is assistance to young people in lease with option to purchase housingunder constant protection. The measure provides subsidies of up to €28,800, so that the amount paid as rent will be considered an advance payment for a future purchase. This measure will be available to young people under the age of 35 (inclusive), who will have a maximum of three years to decide whether to purchase an apartment. The amount will be paid to the seller.
However, the implementation of this innovative proposal is very limited: between 2018 and 2025, only 632 units of social housing for rent with option to buy were built in the whole of Spain, and in the last 15 months, construction of only 65 units began. In 2025, construction was not started and not a single facility was put into operation.
The document also provides for an increase in the rental subsidy for young people to 300 euros per month for basic housing, compared to the current 250 euros per month, and to 200 euros for renting a room in a shared apartment.
Rental assistance also applies to special populations, such as victims of gender-based violence, those facing eviction from their primary residence, or those experiencing homelessness. For example, assistance to women victims of gender-based violence will be a maximum of 1,000 euros per month, while general rental assistance for people with limited incomes is 250 euros per month.
Another of the most visible measures is the launch of a line of guarantees designed to cover potential non-payment of rent. This applies to young people and vulnerable families meeting a number of requirements – in particular, that rent does not exceed 50% of their income; that a deposit exceeding the amount of two monthly payments is not required; and that the bond be deposited with the appropriate authority of the Autonomous Community. However, this is not free assistance: tenants will have to return these funds to the administration.
Subsidies for housing reconstruction
The plan also provides assistance for structural repairs of up to €8,000 per dwelling, assistance for affordability of up to €13,000 per dwelling and assistance for energy repairs of up to €20,500 per dwelling. The maximum amounts will depend on the reduction in primary energy consumption achieved through the renovation work, its cost or the size of the dwelling.
In addition, additional assistance of up to 30,000 euros will be allocated for the reconstruction of housing located in historical city centers or under state protection as cultural heritage. Thus, up to €50,000 can be awarded for a single dwelling in the historic city center that is undergoing structural strengthening, accessibility improvements and energy efficiency improvements.
A further renovation grant of up to €30,000 (and €35,000 in rural areas) is available for properties that have been empty for more than two years, provided they remain affordable rentals for at least five years.
Small municipalities, housing protection and affordable rent
The plan provides subsidies of up to €85,000 for the construction of public housing in municipalities with a population of less than 10,000, which can be for sale or rental. Up to 15,000 euros will be available to young people under the age of 35 who are buying or building their first home in settlements with such a population. However, this threshold may be raised to 20,000 inhabitants in municipalities experiencing population decline.
Among other things, the principle of indefinite protection of public housing is introduced, so that residential real estate acquired and built using plan funds will have protected status on an indefinite basis. The goal is to prevent speculation and to prevent public investments from “disappearing” years later due to de-stating. Thanks to such protection, the constructed housing will forever remain in the public housing stock.
Finally, the new State Housing Plan promises financial compensation for those owners who transfer real estate to their autonomous community for use as affordable housing for rent for a period of seven years. Thus, assistance in the amount of 17,000 euros (25,000 euros in areas with a housing shortage) is provided to those private individuals who transfer housing to their autonomy, and which will have to be rented at a price of no more than 600 euros per month until the end of the contract. Assistance in the amount of up to 12,000 euros will be allocated for the repair of such housing. The Autonomous Community authorities will take full control of the rental and then return the property to the owner in excellent condition.
Construction Incentives and Effective Procedures
The Housing Plan also includes a number of measures to stimulate housing construction. Among them are subsidies for financing the improvement of land plots on which it is planned to build at least 40% of social housing, in the amount of up to 8,000 euros for each property.
It is worth noting the additional assistance of 8,500 euros per facility when using industrialization technologies, which can reach 93,500 euros. Areas with high housing demand will receive an additional €8,500 in support, bringing the total to €102,000 per property.
The central government may completely or partially suspend the transfer of funds if the autonomous authorities do not provide information on the indicators necessary for planning and evaluating housing policy. However, the Ministry of Housing hopes that through dialogue with autonomous communities it will be possible to ensure the transfer of data on rental agreements on a semi-annual basis.
The Spanish government approved the National Housing Plan 2026–2030 in the form of a Royal Decree, so it does not require parliamentary approval. Thus, it will come into effect upon publication in the Official Gazette (BOE), although it will be retroactive to January 1 of the current year.
