The housing issue is increasingly becoming one of the key political topics in Spain. With housing prices remaining high in many regions and young people, in particular, struggling to afford to buy a home, the Partido Popular (PP) is presenting a comprehensive plan. Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo promises to mobilize one million additional housing units should his party take office, while also aiming to make it significantly easier for young people to purchase their first home.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
Feijóo presented his proposals in Madrid on Tuesday alongside the capital’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida. During the visit, he toured a new housing development in the El Cañaveral district. The PP leader used the occasion to clarify his fundamental stance on Spain’s housing crisis: the country needs, above all, more housing and fewer bureaucratic obstacles to its construction.
One million homes at the heart of the plan
The proposal focuses on creating or mobilizing around one million housing units. The PP envisions making additional land available for residential construction and significantly accelerating permitting processes to achieve this.
Feijóo argues that the housing crisis cannot be resolved solely through state intervention or rent controls. Instead, he maintains that significantly increasing the supply is the crucial factor. The PP also anticipates a substantial economic impact from the construction of these additional homes; according to the party’s calculations, this could generate around 750,000 jobs.
A key component of the plan is therefore a reform of Spanish land law. The PP aims to establish new rules that will allow building land to be brought into use more quickly and housing projects to be implemented sooner.
Building permits are no longer to be blocked after 90 days
The proposal to expedite building permits is particularly far-reaching. Under the PP’s concept, a construction project could generally proceed if the responsible municipality fails to reach a decision within 90 days.
Certain protected buildings and areas are to remain exempt from this. According to the PP, the aim is to shorten the lengthy administrative procedures that significantly delay housing construction in many cities.
For Feijóo, bureaucracy is one of the key obstacles in the Spanish real estate market. Municipalities need to designate building land and process permits more quickly so that the housing supply can actually increase.
State guarantees are intended to help young people with their purchase
In addition to new construction, a significant part of the plan is aimed directly at young Spaniards. Although many of them have sufficient income to qualify for a mortgage, they are unable to come up with the down payment required to purchase a property.
The PP therefore aims to enable state guarantees covering up to 100 percent of the purchase price. This is intended to reduce the amount of personal capital young buyers need to take out a mortgage.
In addition, Feijóo plans significant tax relief for the purchase of a first home. The PP aims to reduce the burden of certain taxes by 60 percent.
Up to 26,000 euros less in taxes
An example provided by the PP illustrates the potential scale of the relief: for an apartment with a purchase price of 250,000 euros, the planned tax measures could result in savings of approximately 21,000 to 26,000 euros.
Furthermore, under certain conditions, gifts of real estate between parents and children are to be fully exempt from tax. Saving up equity for a future property purchase is also intended to become more attractive from a tax perspective.
There is also to be temporary income tax relief for young people. Under the PP’s proposal, those starting their first job would receive tax benefits for four years.
However, the sums and benefits mentioned are political proposals by the Partido Popular and not yet measures in effect.
PP plans to boost support for home ownership again
With his proposal, Feijóo places a clear emphasis on promoting home ownership. The aim is for young people not only to find housing more easily but also, wherever possible, to be able to purchase their own property sooner.
The PP links this to a fundamental critique of the housing policy pursued by Pedro Sánchez’s socialist government. Feijóo accuses the government of repeatedly announcing new housing programs while failing to bring a sufficient number of additional homes onto the market. From the PP’s perspective, therefore, the main problem lies not merely in prices, but above all in the lack of supply.
Criticism of the government’s housing policy
In this context, Feijóo also criticized the state-run housing portal “Casa 47.” According to the PP, only around 800 apartments were listed when it launched. For the opposition leader, this figure is completely disproportionate to the scale of Spain’s housing problems. In his view, a few hundred apartments could not fundamentally alter the situation in a market where hundreds of thousands of homes are lacking.
The PP leader is therefore calling for a fundamental change of course: instead of focusing primarily on state regulation, Spain needs to build significantly more housing again.
Madrid is intended to serve as an example
Feijóo deliberately chose Madrid to present his plan. Together with Mayor Martínez-Almeida, he visited a new residential complex in El Cañaveral, where housing for around 1,200 households is being – or has been – built.
For his part, Almeida pointed to the capital’s housing policy. According to him, Madrid now has a public housing stock of more than 1,000 units. By the end of the current legislative term, this stock is set to grow to around 12,000 units.
Furthermore, according to the mayor, the capital has building land already serviced with utilities for approximately 90,000 additional housing units.
Housing is becoming a key political issue
The PP’s initiative highlights the significance the housing crisis has now assumed in Spanish politics. Young people, in particular, are facing sharply rising property prices and high equity requirements in many cities.
Feijóo is therefore banking on a mix of increased housing construction, reduced bureaucracy, state guarantees, and lower taxes. His goal is to expand supply while simultaneously making it easier to enter the homeownership market.
However, whether a million additional housing units could actually be realized depends on numerous factors – including the availability of building land, the role of local authorities, permitting processes, and financing. What is clear, however, is that the PP is making the housing issue a central component of its political agenda, thereby clearly positioning itself against the course taken by Pedro Sánchez’s government.
