Spain's Ambitious Plan to Triple Social Housing Investment

Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has urged regional leaders to back an ambitious plan that seeks to triple investment in social housing to approximately 7 billion euros. This initiative, spanning the next four years, aims to elevate the nation's social housing stock, currently at 3%, to align with Europe's average of 8%.

The proposal, which precedes a Friday meeting with regional leaders, includes an increase in investment to 4 billion euros from a prior allocation of 1.7 billion over three years. It urges additional funding of 2.7 billion euros from regional governments, primarily governed by the conservative People's Party. Regions are asked to enhance their housing budget contributions from 25% to 40%.

Further, the government aims to keep social housing under state ownership, preventing sales to private entities, a common past practice. The introduction of a comprehensive database to monitor rental, housing prices, tourist rentals, and construction land is also proposed, though funding particulars and parliamentary consent remain unspecified.

(With inputs from agencies.)