Pedro Sánchez underlines the Government's commitment to placing housing at the centre of public policies and calls for the Housing Law to be applied because "it works"

Sant Boi de Llobregat (Barcelona)

Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

During the visit, the President of the Government of Spain underlined the Executive's firm commitment to placing housing at the centre of public policies and stressed the need to apply the Housing Law in all territories with stressed areas.

"The Housing Act works. It is a public intervention, but we need the will to apply it and we cannot accept the boycott by some administrations", said the head of the Executive, who was accompanied by the Minister for Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, and the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa. "Against the law of the jungle, the Housing Law; against vulture funds, the Housing Law; against speculation, the Housing Law", he said.

The President of the Government of Spain reiterated his call to all public administrations to apply the Housing Law "once and for all", as a useful tool to respond to the housing problem. In this regard, Sánchez highlighted Catalonia as an example of the effectiveness of this law, as it has managed to contain the price of rent in the 270 municipalities in which the law has been applied after they were declared to be stressed areas.

Plan for 50,000 social housing and affordable rental units in Catalonia

The head of the Executive welcomed the announcement, by President Illa, of the new Plan for 50,000 social housing and affordable rental units in Catalonia, based on the promotion of public-private partnership to mobilise public and private land, and on the promotion of the financing needed to make the development of these housing units attractive.

"Catalonia demonstrates the importance of acting in a coordinated and complementary manner. The State, autonomous communities and city councils have competencies in housing, so let's work together, regardless of the acronyms, because the cause merits it", said the President of the Government of Spain.

A firm commitment to housing as the fifth pillar of the welfare state

Pedro Sánchez emphasised the Government's commitment to making housing the fifth pillar of the welfare state and stressed the Executive's will to put all the necessary resources on the table to ensure that public policies lead to housing solutions for all citizens. "It should not only be a right, but a fact," the president said.

The head of the Executive called for administrative collaboration at all levels to make housing a common commitment for the country. "Collective efforts achieve results. When all administrations work together to tackle the housing problem, commitments are transformed into solutions," he said.

Sánchez also highlighted the Government's action on housing, with a budget eight times larger and a roadmap that already includes the promotion of the Affordable Rental Housing Plan, the ICO guarantees for young people and families and the Youth Rental Voucher. Similarly, the Executive has set up the State Housing Company and a system of public guarantees for renting, as well as a new PERTE for Housing to promote industrialised and modular construction.

Non official translation