The Government of Spain approves the rental voucher for young people up to 35 years old and the State Plan for Access to Housing 2022-2025

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree regulating the "Bono Alquiler Joven" and the State Plan for Access to Housing 2022-2025.

The Minister for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, has stated that the constitutional right to housing "is set to become the fifth pillar of the welfare state" and that housing policy is one of the Government's priorities, especially in guaranteeing access for young people.

The General State Budget will allocate 3.29 billion euros to housing policies this year, which, according to the minister, represents "a quantitative leap compared to the 475 million allocated in the previous government's budget".

For her part, the Minister for Territorial Policy and Government Spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, reiterated the Government's commitment to initiatives that, like those on housing, "extend rights, improve people's lives and dignify their development".

State Plan for Access to Housing 2022-2025

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe State Plan for Access to Housing 2022-2025 has 345 million euros from the General Budget for 2022, and is expected to total 1.717 billion euros by 2025.

Sánchez has defined it as "the Government's main instrument to promote and support renting and to make it easier for people with lower incomes to access housing". In particular, it pays special attention to the most vulnerable people, those who are homeless or affected by evictions.

One of the measures envisaged is to subsidise insurance for non-payment of rent, with a limit of 5% of the annual rent, so that the landlord has the guarantee of collecting the corresponding rent and tenants can temporarily alleviate any situation of financial difficulty that may arise.

With regard to young people, they will be able to receive aid for renting and even for the purchase of permanent housing in municipalities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. In addition, 30% of the 100,000 housing units intended to increase the public housing stock will be reserved for them.

This boost to the public housing stock will increase the supply of social rental housing and promote affordable rental housing for the elderly or disabled, through aid for the development of housing with design, facilities and services that respond to their circumstances.

The Plan also envisages promoting cohousing and intergenerational residential modalities and making housing owned by SAREB and public entities available to the regional governments and local entities for social renting.

More generally, the Plan will contribute to improving the accessibility of housing, to promoting urban and rural regeneration and renewal in degraded areas and in areas where 'shantytowns' and substandard housing still prevail, and to paying subsidies for agreed loans that were regulated in previous state housing plans.

"Bono Alquiler Joven" (Youth Rental Voucher)

The Government has regulated the requirements for young people up to 35 years old to be eligible for the rental voucher, which also includes renting rooms, and the conditions for this aid.

The beneficiaries must have an income of no more than three times the Multiplier Effect on Revenue Index (IPREM) and the rented property must be considered to be habitual and permanent and have a maximum rent of 600 euros/month, notwithstanding the possibility of this rising to 900 euros/month in certain cases agreed in the Monitoring Committee formed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda and the corresponding regional government.

In the case of room rentals, these price limits will be up to 300 euros per room, which may be raised to 450 euros if the Monitoring Committee so decides.

The aid will be 250 euros per month for two years, an amount that may be complemented by other aid regulated in the State Housing Plan or established additionally by the regional governments. It will also be compatible with non-contributory Social Security benefits and Minimum Basic Income.

Approval of the future Law on the Right to Housing soon

Raquel Sánchez explained that the Government's intention today was also to approve the Law on the Right to Housing presented last October, but that it is waiting for the General Council of the Judiciary to issue the report that was requested on 1 December. This report is mandatory because the text of the future regulation proposes the amendment of three articles of the Civil Procedure Law, although it is not binding.

The minister assured that the law will be passed once all the formalities have been completed, that it will have all the guarantees and legal security, and that once passed it will allow the right to decent housing "to be exercised in affordable conditions and that housing will no longer be a luxury good that can only be accessed by a few".

Law on the Quality of Architecture

The Council of Ministers has approved the referral to Parliament of the Draft Law on the Quality of Architecture, one of the main reforms of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. It is the first state law that was created with the aim of guaranteeing the quality of architecture as a general interest asset.

Minister Raquel Sánchez pointed out that its purpose is to bring architecture closer to society and to contribute to sustainable economic and social development through renovation policies, the improvement of building quality and the protection of natural and cultural heritage.

New vocational training qualifications

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe Government has decided to add 49 new qualifications to the Vocational Training System.

The government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, explained that the new qualifications affect 16 professional areas and are mainly aimed at digitalisation, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, automatic learning, graphic interface design and the digitalisation of professional environments.

Rodríguez stressed the importance of adapting the training offer to the demand of companies, and reiterated that the reform of Vocational Training is a priority for the Government, which has included it in the Recovery Plan and which last October submitted the Draft Organic Law for the Organisation and Integration of Vocational Trainingto the Spanish Parliament .

Current Affairs

Isabel Rodríguez has valued the increase in Social Security affiliation forecast for January as proof that job creation is consolidating and, moreover, is doing so across the board in all sectors: "It is very important to send out a message of optimism in the face of the evidence, which is that Spain is growing and creating jobs".

The Government spokesperson also considered the recovery of tourism as encouraging data given that, in the first eleven months of last year, overnight stays by Spanish residents exceeded 75% of the level of 2019. Rodríguez recalled the strategic nature of the sector and that this week the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) will take place, one of its best showcases.

Non official translation