Madrid and Andalusia will lose housing funds if they don't amend their laws.

The government is trying to force Madrid and Andalusia, where the privatization of social housing is possible, to change their regulations to permanently protect the public housing stock. The Ministry of Housing is thus attempting to compare its public housing model with that of the two main regional governments of the People's Party (PP). To this end, the central government has chosen the State Housing Plan 2026-2030, which includes an investment of 2.8 billion euros to expand the social housing stock. The new feature is that the funds are conditional on the apartments having permanent protection and not being able to transfer to the open market.

The government's attention is now focused on Madrid and Andalusia. In Madrid, a 2009 decree establishes that public housing can be sold on the open market after fifteen years. Meanwhile, in Andalusia, the government of Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla has begun the process of approving the first Housing Law, and the draft bill includes qualifications of 7, 10, or 15 years before moving to the open market, depending on the type. Therefore, if the law ends up being approved as worded, state funds will not reach Andalusia.

In the draft royal decree that will regulate the next State Housing Plan, the ministry has stated that the regulation aims to "ensure the indefinite permanence of all protected housing stock, avoiding disqualification and consolidating a permanent protected housing stock." It adds: "Only those developments that ensure the indefinite permanence of the protected classification will be financed, thus avoiding the disqualification that in past decades has significantly eroded the protected housing stock." The same condition will apply to protected housing developments built on private land and intended for rental or sale. The state regulation will require that the permanent protection of the home be recorded in the marginal note of the Property Registry.

Last Tuesday, after the Council of Ministers meeting, Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez mentioned the aforementioned approval of the Andalusian housing law and urged Moreno Bonilla's administration to rectify it. "Protecting public housing stock has a social benefit and brings together a broad social consensus," Rodríguez emphasized. The government emphasizes that, although the "black hole" of public housing privatization is located in Madrid and Andalusia, the remaining regions—all those governed by the People's Party (PP) with the exception of the Balearic Islands, as well as Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha, governed by the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)—will have to protect their housing stock to access state funds.

Minister Isabel Rodríguez urges Moreno Bonilla to amend the Andalusian Housing Law.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Housing presented the draft State Plan to business leaders and unions to incorporate their contributions. Among employers, there was explicit support for permanently protecting the public housing stock. "Accessing public housing that can be liberalized over the years is like winning the lottery," notes one sector executive. "Where taxes are levied on everyone, the beneficiary cannot be an individual," adds another.

Spain is at the bottom of the EU list in terms of public housing stock. Currently, only three out of every hundred apartments (3.3%) are subsidized. The European average for social housing is 8%, while countries like France, the Netherlands, Austria, and the Nordic countries are around 20%. To try to reverse this trend, the government has been working since the last term to prevent public housing from being liberalized and transferred to the private market.

Read also Housing plans to spend 2.8 billion on protected housing Fernando H. Valls

The first attempt was made in the Housing Law, which introduced the permanent classification of protected public housing. The aim was to apply at the state level a model that is currently in place in four territories: Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands, and Navarre. It existed in the Valencian Community, but the indefinite classification was modified a year ago. However, the Constitutional Court established in May 2024 that the regulation of protected housing belongs to the autonomous communities and that this jurisdiction cannot be encroached upon.

The mechanism devised, therefore, is the future State Housing Plan for the next five years, which conditions the ministry's funding on the indefinite protection of properties financed by the government. In other words, every home that receives state funding must be protected in perpetuity.

Real estate developers support the permanent protection of the park financed with public funds.

The State Housing Plan requires consensus at the next housing sector conference, and this is where the various governments must take a position. It should be noted that access to state funds requires the signing of a collaboration agreement. Given the difficulty some regions face in advancing funds, the government has decided that funding for 2026 will be provided exclusively by the Ministry of Housing.

In Spain, some 6.5 million social housing units have been developed since 1960, and 2.7 million from 1980 to 2023. However, the continued disqualification of this housing stock has reduced it to a minimum. Now, the goal is not to make these properties unsaleable, but to impose price limits.