The unstoppable rise in prices and the limited supply of affordable housing for rent in most Galician cities currently have no solution in the Xunta offices. The treatment of rental aid granted by the Galician Executive is a good example of the problems and delays that support policies in favor of those with the least accumulation. Of the 17,850 applications presented by disadvantaged families this year, only around 4,300 will be processed, according to data provided to Parliament by the Secretary General of Housing and Urban Planning, Heriberto García Porto. This barely amounts to meeting 24% of the total assistance requested by people for whom public assistance is essential given their low income.
But to the problem of the scarcity of aid granted is added the slowness of the Galician administration in processing these subsidies. So far, only 2,669 requests have been processed for a total of 6.1 million euros, which represents 61% of the 10 million reserved for this year, to which an identical amount will be added in 2025. In addition, for 2024, an additional 2.7 million euros are planned to renew the aid granted last year. Here, the concession percentage is higher since it reaches 92%, although it should be noted that the processing is much simpler in terms of renewals.
La Xunta assures that the processing of the aid will be completed before the end of October and that payment will be made before the end of December, but this delay in the granting deadlines (the period for submitting applications ended on February 29 and the resolution was planned for a maximum duration of 3 months) means that many people have difficulty paying their rent, even if they have the possibility of obtaining assistance that would make it easier for them. Once the aid is granted, it is paid retroactively to January 1, 2024.
From the NGO Provivienda, its manager in Galicia, Ana Pardo, explains that this situation poses serious problems for the most disadvantaged families, both because of the uncertainty of knowing whether or not they will receive aid and because delay in its granting. , because many of them already have difficulty renting an apartment due to their economic situation and the fact that they benefit from regional aid allows them to facilitate the signing of a rental contract.
Pardo points out that there have been cases of people waiting for money that did not arrive on time, and therefore had to leave the apartment they were renting and go live in a shared apartment after the efforts made by their NGO. “For example, there are people who receive the minimum subsistence income and who are very limited in paying rent, so it is very important to be able to count on this assistance as quickly as possible. »
Another controversial issue concerns the mechanism for granting this aid, since it is not guaranteed that those who need it most will receive it. Subsidies are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to those who meet the requirements set out in the regulations, among which the family unit’s income does not exceed three times the IPREM. “We have repeatedly informed the Administration that there should be a social evaluation before the concession. There are families who suffer from not having the technical means necessary to access payments and who have to turn to organizations like ours to request them,” explains Ana Pardo.
The head of Provivienda in Galicia also points out that delays in granting aid also occur in the Social Rental Bonus (it is granted to evicted people) since to renew it it is necessary to present social reports including the treatment is long. be elaborate and hinder renovations that actually meet the required requirements. On a positive note, Ana Pardo highlights that since the creation of the Housing Department, there has been a positive “change of attitude” within the Xunta and more information is being transferred to NGOs and there is a commitment to improve this situation.
These rental subsidies managed by the Xunta are 50% financed by the regional executive, while the other half are contributions from the National Housing Plan. During his parliamentary appearance last Thursday, García Porto emphasized that the “. In the case of rentals, this does not seem to be respected.
Galicia doubles the national average of empty homes
Housing is becoming one of the hobbyhorses of the legislative power, both in Galicia and in the rest of the State. The head of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, has promised to double the number of social housing units during this mandate from 4,000 to 8,000 and also plans to promote 5,000 free housing units in the coming years.
Last June, the Xunta committed to building 20,000 subsidized housing units in Galicia in the coming years and has already approved an amount of more than 43 million euros to buy land in the seven main cities and allow developers private individuals and cooperatives to build housing.
Besides the need for new sheltered housing, another serious problem that Provivienda warns about is that in Galicia the percentage of empty housing doubles the state average (28.8% in Galicia compared to 14.4% in Spain ). According to a Tinsa report from 2023, there are 350,000 empty homes in Galicia, of which 135,000 are in the province of A Coruña, 90,000 in Pontevedra, 72,000 in Ourense and 57,000 in Lugo. Making part of this huge housing stock available for rental could be one of the solutions to the complicated rental situation in Galicia, according to Provivienda.
