The right to housing is one of the fundamental pillars of a just and democratic society. However, in Catalonia, this right is constantly under threat due to the devastating effects of a deregulated real estate market, which prioritizes the benefit of a few over the needs of the majority.
Rental prices have increased by 78% in ten years, while inflation and salaries have increased by 24%. Data that show the greater economic effort of Catalans to rent a home: in 2014, it represented 30% of the annual income, while currently it represents almost half of the salary. Seen from this perspective, it is clear that this market is totally uncontrolled and that regulatory criteria must be applied.
The national law that regulates rental prices was an important step in the right direction, but we cannot stop there, we must continue to move forward. Because with every measure we take to protect the right to housing, speculators end up finding a fraudulent way to escape.
This is why the rental crisis has been aggravated by the rise of seasonal rentals. This type of rental, initially intended for short stays, has become a perverse mechanism aimed at evicting neighbours from their neighbourhood and making rental contracts even more precarious. The result is that many young people, families and elderly people are forced to leave their homes, while apartments are rented at exorbitant prices.
Catalonia needs clear and courageous regulation of seasonal rentals. We cannot allow this type of rental to become an escape route from the regulation of the permanent housing market. The regulation of seasonal rentals and room rentals is essential to ensure that these practices do not escape the law.
The fact that housing is for people and not for speculation means that we need to move towards a stronger social housing stock and extend protection for tenants. This must go hand in hand with an anti-speculative policy. In other words, speculating on housing is bad business.
From the outset, housing must be recognized as a useful and essential asset, and not as a tool for lucrative investments. That is why we must promote a recovery plan for social housing whose protection is about to expire or has just expired. In addition to reducing the waiting lists for emergency tables to zero.
On the other hand, it is essential to prohibit speculative purchases that are not for the purpose of habitual residence, as is the case in the Netherlands. These measures help to protect city dwellers. In addition, the experimental purchase of entire buildings by public administrations prevents these buildings from falling into the hands of investment funds.
We are also committed to open-ended rental contracts, which provide stability for families and end the uncertainty experienced by many tenants. And, in stressed areas, it is essential to eliminate tourist housing, which has directly contributed to the eviction of tenants. neighbors.
But it is not enough to stop speculation: we need a social housing stock that guarantees real access to affordable rentals. This is why we propose a commitment to an ambitious budget that allocates 1% of GDP to housing policies. The minimum objective is to work towards the European average of 9% of social housing.
This public park must be built both directly by Incasòl, which must become a public real estate agency, and through collaborations with non-profit or for-profit entities. It is also essential to attract housing from the private market as it is transferred to the Generalitat for management, a measure that has proven effective in rapidly expanding the affordable rental stock.
And finally, the most immediate measure that the Generalitat can apply, and which was part of the investiture agreement, is to urgently approve the sanctions regime provided for in the Housing Law to launch an inspection team capable of detecting and sanctioning those who offer rentals above the established rate or who fraudulently use seasonal rentals.
It is time to build a new housing culture in Catalonia that ensures that housing is a central pillar of our welfare state. We cannot continue to let market logic impose its rules to the detriment of citizens’ well-being. The Constitution and the Declaration of Human Rights recognise housing as a fundamental right, just like health and education. If we do not accept that health or education operate exclusively according to market logic, why is it allowed with housing?
Ensuring access to housing is not only a matter of social justice, but also of ensuring the cohesion of our neighborhoods and cities. Having decent housing is a condition of the possibility of freedom. And so, if we want livable cities, full of life and diversity, we must put an end to practices that favor the expulsion of their inhabitants and their transformation into theme parks for tourists.
