The Minister of Development, Territorial Articulation, and Housing, Rocío Díaz, has called on the State for a «deep reform» of state legislation, including a new Land Law that «facilitates urban development with legal certainty», a national law against illegal occupation that «allows for express evictions and strengthens victim protection», and the repeal of the current State Housing Law. Rocío Díaz appeared in Madrid at the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities of the Senate, where she emphasized the need to move away from labels and impositions and implement «realistic measures» that truly ensure access to housing. «Another housing model is possible, and Andalusia is a clear example of this,» stated the Minister of Development.
Díaz reviewed the seven years of the Spanish government’s housing policies, which have led to «a historical drop» in rental availability and an «unbridled price increase», exacerbated in the last two years with the implementation of the State Housing Law, a norm that has proven ineffective. Additionally, Díaz reiterated the urgent need for the Sectorial Housing Conference to be convened as «the housing situation requires more work and less demagogy». The Sectorial Conference has not been held for seven months despite significant issues to address, such as the distribution of funds from the State Plan.
The Minister defended the housing model that Andalusia is promoting, which shares similarities with the models other communities aim to develop. «Ensuring access to housing has always been a priority for this Andalusian government, leaving behind the socialist inaction,» she stated, appealing to an Andalusian approach «without labels» that «aligns with the aspirations of the majority», with measures that align with expert, sector, and institutional recommendations. In her Senate appearance, she highlighted Andalusia’s policy focus on increasing the public rental housing stock, simplifying bureaucracy, and reducing tax burdens. She mentioned the approval of the Vive Plan in Andalusia, which helped to promote 13,000 VPO (officially protected homes), four times more than in the previous term, as well as the LISTA, their land law, which streamlines urban processes and reduces administrative timelines.
She also mentioned the over 1,700 Andalusians who have obtained guarantees to buy their first home through the Guaranteed Housing Andalusia program, and the 250,000 Andalusians who have saved 460 million euros thanks to tax reductions associated with housing.
«Our housing policies offer certainty and confidence, returning to citizens the peace of mind that having an affordable home in Andalusia is not a utopia, but an achievable right,» she affirmed. In this regard, she noted that the Andalusian government has initiated the development of land for 19,000 homes through public-private collaboration and has granted over 300 million euros in aid to developers for the construction of 7,000 protected rental homes.
Andalusian Housing Law, after summer
Rocío Díaz informed the Upper House that the Andalusian government is working on «a housing law with its own stamp, which will reach Parliament after summer and is aimed at solving problems rather than creating them». «It will be a structural and impactful reform to increase supply and lower prices so that the young people and families of our land have easier access to housing,» she explained.
Some of the measures have already been advanced with the approval in February of a decree-law that aims to build 20,000 protected homes in five years.
To achieve this, measures have been adopted to increase land availability, including the option to convert tourist or office plots into protected housing, or allow VPO on private endowment plots for rent. Additionally, a 20% increase in density and buildability on free housing plots is allowed if they are dedicated to official protection and promotions are added to the Project Acceleration Unit, halving processing times. Finally, the Ministry of Development is working on creating a land bank for protected housing to make it available to developers.
Rocío Díaz also recalled that the Andalusian government is addressing the increase in squatting within its competencies. Thus, the Andalusian System for Information and Advice on Eviction and Fight against Illegal Occupation has been created because «occupation and insecurity are present, even if they deny it.» «Our model seeks to restore balance between owners and tenants by providing legal certainty,» the Minister of Development stated, emphasizing that housing requires ambitious, responsible, and consensus-based policies, and Andalusia will continue to work, propose, and collaborate, but also demand.