Spain Bars Privatization of Public Housing in 7bn Plan

The Spanish Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the State Housing Plan for 2026-2030, tripling funding to 7,000 million euros in what the government calls a transformative approach to addressing Spain's housing crisis. The plan, presented by Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez, introduces an indefinite protection principle for properties built or acquired with public funds, effectively preventing the privatization of publicly financed housing. "Not a single euro of financing will go to speculation but to guaranteeing the right," Rodríguez stated, emphasizing the plan's shift from the previous role of the central government as merely a funding provider to an active policy shaper. The financing structure maintains co-financing with autonomous communities, with the State contributing 60% and regional governments increasing their share from 25% to 40%. This has been a point of contention with PP-led regional governments. The plan is structured around five axes: promoting construction and acquisition of public housing, rehabilitation of existing stock, supporting youth emancipation, reducing financial effort rates, and intervening in housing-stressed areas. At least 40% of the budget is earmarked for construction and rehabilitation, 30% for rehabilitating existing housing, and 30% for youth aid and affordability measures. New measures include increased rental bonuses for young people up to 300 euros monthly, purchase assistance for first-time buyers in municipalities with demographic risk, and an anti-fraud clause following irregularities in protected housing allocations that are under judicial investigation. This marks the first housing plan developed under the recently passed Housing Law framework, fundamentally changing the central government's role from a passive funding mechanism to an active policy participant. For Catalonia specifically, the plan allocates 1,015 million euros over its duration, representing a 473-million-euro increase compared to the previous plan. Rodríguez acknowledged that housing challenges require long-term solutions, stating that "patches" and "magic wands" are insufficient, and that citizens are demanding a national agreement on housing policy. The plan will distribute aid through regional administrations, with the government asserting it has incorporated input from over 28 regional meetings and approximately 400 sector contributions.