Spain’s massive housing crisis is putting pressure on Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as his government’s measures yield few results and frustration builds among frustrated citizens.
“Finding a place to rent is now a pit, especially for young people,” Juan Lozano, 24, told AFP.
“There is nothing available, and if there is, the prices are very high.”
Lozano was one of about 22,000 protesters who packed central Madrid on Sunday to express their anger at the continued cost and shortage of new housing and to threaten landlords with a rent strike.
Housing has been an intractable puzzle for successive governments in Spain, which still faces the risk of a 2008 property market crash that coincided with the global recession.
But since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the problem has become “unsustainable,” Lozano said.
The price per square meter for rent has increased by 82 percent over the past 10 years, according to online real estate forum Idealista.
That increase well outstripped average wages, which rose 17 percent over the same period, according to Spain’s national statistics agency, making remittances unaffordable for low-income families.
Compounding the problem is the lack of public housing, which makes up only 2.5 percent of the total compared to the EU average of 9.3 percent.
– Houses become a ‘dream’ –
The crisis has taken a toll on Sanchez’s minority government, which prides itself on protecting the working class, as tensions flare with left-wing allies in parliament and angry citizens grow increasingly impatient.
“The rents are suffocating us and no one is doing anything,” said the national union.
“The majority of the public has paid for this housing crisis for a long time, while a few are getting rich by losing their jobs.”
The trade union CCOO said access to housing has become a “dream for many sections of society” and urged the state to enshrine the right to a “decent and appropriate home” in the constitution.
The government introduced landmark legislation in May last year that plans to increase social housing, tax rates in areas with high market pressure and fines for owners who leave their properties empty.
But the law has so far failed to rein in rent increases, which reached 10.2 percent year-on-year between July and September and 15 percent in major cities such as Madrid and Valencia.
The Bank of Spain says that 600,000 new homes are needed by the end of 2025 to meet the needs of the population, but it is estimated that less than 100,000 are being built each year.
This law has also created tension between Madrid and other regional governments responsible for implementing it.
– ‘Most important’ –
Sánchez defended his government’s record on Monday, saying he had increased resources dedicated to housing eightfold since taking office in 2018, but admitted that “magic wands” would not solve the “difficult” problem.
He said housing would be his government’s “priority” and wanted to avoid a “Spain with rich owners and poor tenants”, announcing a 200 million euro ($218 million) housing package for young people.
The government recently announced an end to so-called golden visas that grant residence permits to foreigners who invest in real estate, which they criticize for encouraging speculation in big cities.
It also promised to combat the spread of tourist accommodation, which reduces the number of houses available on the market, and accelerate the construction of new houses.
For many Spaniards tired of the false dawn, more must be done.
“For years we have had promises” but “few results”, Laura Barrio of the group “Stop Desahucios” (Stop Expulsions) told AFP.
“Structural changes” are needed to solve the problem “from the roots”, he added.
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