Housing assistance bonuses for young people, the flagship proposal of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, they would not be effective enough. This is the conclusion of a Fotocasa study, which states that only 6% apartments to rent in Spain are less than 600 euros. These rentals, in addition, are mainly located in areas with low stress and low demand.
According to the study published this Monday by the real estate sales and rental portal, only 6% of apartments for rent have a lower rent 600 euros and 31%, less than 900 eurosranges including the maximum price requirements for young people to benefit from assistance from the Young Rental Bonus.
On October 14, after the massive demonstration the day before in the capital Madrid and other cities in Spain to demand solutions to the housing problem, Pedro Sánchez announced a new call for the Young Rental Bonus worth 200 million euros.
Thanks to this help, Young people aged 18 to 35 could receive a fixed amount of 250 euros per month pay the rent if certain conditions are met, including the price of the house It must not exceed 600 euros, a ceiling which could rise to 900 euros in certain communities if the various Administrations decide so.
Questioned on this subject, the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy (Sumar), stressed this Monday in Al Rojo Vivo that “any type of right to tenants must be accompanied by a limit price”. But, he adds, the communities governed by the PP refuse to apply the housing law. It is for this reason that he stressed that “social and political pressure is necessary so that these decisions “They must rectify the situation”. “In Catalonia, they have fallen by 5%, while in the rest of Spain they continue to grow,” he detailed, calling for tackling “the speculation” and “housing hoarding” because “it’s an emergency.”
The offer is very rare or even non-existent
However, according to rental market supply data for the month of October provided by Fotocasa, in most provincial capitals The offer below 600 euros is very rare or almost non-existent.
The city of Barcelona leads the ranking with 0.1% of the total supply of rental housing priced below 600 euros, followed by Madrid (0.3%), Valencia (0.4%), Santander (0.4%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1.2%), Girona (1.4%) or Bilbao (1.6%). There are even cities where the offer below this price is non-existent, such as Pamplona, San Sebastián, Palma de Mallorca or Vitoria.
At the other extreme, among cities that have a greater availability of rental housing at a price lower than 600 euros are in Palenciawith 55% of the offer lower than this price; Next comes Ciudad Real, where 52% of housing is priced below 600 euros. The list of provincial capitals is completed by Jaén (48%), Zamora (37%), Lugo (36%) and Badajoz (30%).
We must “review and widen the limit”
“If the objective is for the Youth Bonus to reach those who need it most, The monthly payment limit should be reviewed and extendedsince the average price of rent in Spain already exceeds 1,000 euros and, therefore, a large number of young people will not be able to apply for it because their income exceeds 600 euros, or 900 euros depending on the autonomy in which they are” , declared the director of studies and spokesperson for Fotocasa, María Matos.
The rental market situation has changed a lot in just a few years, so much so that in In 2022, in Madrid, there were 14% of housing for less than 600 euros and today only 0.3%; In the case of rentals below 900 euros, in 2022 in the Madrid capital they represented 29% of the total, while currently they represent 5%.
The extension of the ceiling up to 900 euros is also a restricted measure in the most stressed markets. And in this context, in cities like Vitoria there are no apartments below this price, the capital of Alava is followed by Palma de Mallorca (0.2%), Barcelona (1.2% ), San Sebastián (1.5%), Bilbao (4%). , Madrid (6%) or Valencia (7%).
