One of the most ambitious aspects of the agreement of the coalition of progressive between the PSOE and United we Can refers to the commitments on housing. There are two principles remarkable: to establish the active policy of housing as a basic instrument to reduce inequality and to consider “housing as a right and not as a mere commodity”.
These principles are developed in a long list of concrete measures. Highlights include the progressive extension of the rachitic budget in the area of housing; to enable town Councils and autonomous communities to establish benchmarks that can curb the rises in abusive rental; relocation right away to the tenants who can’t pay the rent; the promotion of the social rentals for foreclosure victims; the protection of individuals with mortgages; mobilization of public land for housing in the social rented and affordable, and a plan of conventions of Sareb with local Councils and communities to encourage social rental properties. These ideas have not fallen from the sky. In good part the proposals defended on his own by the Platform Affected by the Mortgage during the last decade.
these measures Are necessary and urgent before the dramatic deficit of equipment and rights. As has been recalled by Carme Trilla, one of the most knowledgeable experts of this sector, the housing funds in the State Budget were reduced from 1,500 million euros in 2009 to 450 million in 2018. In the same period, the housing officer initiated declined from 68,000 5,000.
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The 12 main measures of the pact PSOE-United we Can covenant includes a commitment to limit the price of rents
In the territory of the rights, the delay is huge. As explained by the lawyer, Veronica Davalos, an expert in european law, “the Constitutional Court still has not recognized housing as a fundamental right as it has done the Court of Justice of the EU”.
Resolve the need for housing in Spain seems to be mission impossible. But there are examples such as Red Vienna, which contradicts it. In 1920, Austria was organized as a federal republic, and Vienna became one of their States. Then, the city had a huge housing shortage. The situation changed radically with the social democrats who built the 65,000 dwellings between 1923 and 1934, as he explains very well Andoni Unzalu, in stellar Moments of the history of socialism (Cataract). The city Council, which had fiscal autonomy by being a federal State, financed all the works, without resorting ever to credit, relying mostly on a wealth tax of 0.5%. The beginning was “the rich have to pay.”
A century later, Vienna is still the reference. 60% of inhabitants live in subsidized housing or flats in a municipality. The city Council is the owner of 220,000 homes and another 200,000 have been built by promoters without profit or with limited benefits. A utopia turned into reality. There are that take advantage of the sensitivity of the new Government and the tune with the policies of the various autonomous communities and town Councils. In this matter the spirit of federal, that is to say, the to agree, is essential.
