Inside Spain’s acute housing crisis

Housing becoming a ‘fantasy’

The crisis has dogged Sanchez’s fragile minority government which prides itself on defending the working classes, as tensions simmer with left-wing allies in parliament and exasperated citizens grow increasingly impatient.

“Rents are suffocating us and no one does anything,” said the national tenants’ union.

“The majority of society has been paying for the housing crisis for too long, while a minority gets rich at the expense of their work.”

Trade union CCOO said access to housing had become a “fantasy for large parts of society” and urged the state to enshrine the right to “a decent and suitable home” in the constitution.

The government introduced a landmark law in May last year that plans to boost social housing, cap rents in areas with the greatest market squeeze and punishments for owners who leave their properties empty.

But the legislation has so far failed to rein in galloping rent hikes, which hit 10.2 percent year-on-year between July and September with peaks of 15 percent in large cities such as Madrid and Valencia.

The Bank of Spain says 600,000 new homes are needed by the end of 2025 to meet the population’s needs but estimates fewer than 100,000 are built each year.

The law has also sparked a stand-off between Madrid and some regional governments responsible for implementing it.

‘Absolute priority’

Sanchez defended his government’s record on Monday, saying it had increased resources dedicated to housing eightfold since he took office in 2018, but conceded “magic wands” would not solve the “difficult” problem.

He said housing would be his government’s “absolute priority” and wanted to avoid “a Spain with wealthy owners and poor tenants”, announcing a housing package of 200 million euros ($218 million) for the young.

The government recently announced the end of so-called “golden visas” that granted residence permits to foreigners who invest in real estate, who critics accuse of encouraging speculation in big cities.

It has also promised to crack down on the spread of tourist apartments, which reduce the number of homes available on the market, and accelerate the construction of new houses.

For many Spaniards weary of false dawns, more must be done.

“We have had promises for years” but “few results”, Laura Barrio of the collective “Stop Desahucios” (Stop Expulsions) told AFP.

“Structural reforms” are needed to solve the problem “from the roots”, she added.