Against the housing crisis, Catalonia expropriates the empty houses of large landlords to give them to vulnerable people

Also in Spain the housing crisis bites. Politics tries to respond with measures to favor the weakest groups. The cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of a line of credit from the Official Credit Institution (ICO) for the purchase of the first home which will cover up to 20% of mortgage loans for families with dependent children and young people up to 35 years of age with the aim of facilitating the purchase of around 50,000 homes. On the same day came the news that the Catalan government will expropriate empty lodgings belonging to large landlords and will make them available to people vulnerable and at risk of exclusion. The measure will initially affect 14 municipalities in the region, such as Lloret de Mar and Tarragona, declared areas of high housing demand. The expropriation, explains the Catalan government, will only affect the houses included in the Registry of vacant and unoccupied homes and will not affect small owners.

The first letters will be sent in the coming days with the obligation for the owners of the houses to legally demonstrate that they are intended for people’s residence. If they do not comply with the request within one month, the will be declared violation of the social function of the building, which occurs when a dwelling remains permanently and unjustifiably unoccupied for more than two years. The expropriation procedure will last about six months. Therefore it is expected that the first expropriations will be carried out at the beginning of 2024.

To benefit from the guarantees of the ICO, there will be a limit of individual income of 37,800 euros per year, which will be increased in the case of families with minor children and single-parent families. The ICO will also make loans worth €4 billion to finance the development of up to 43,000 homes in energy-efficient buildings, to be rented at affordable prices for at least 50 years.