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RENTING

Ten ways under-35s in Spain can get help to buy a home

Buying a home is particularly difficult for young people in Spain, with low wages, job instability and rising property prices making it a pipe dream for most. But there are several schemes throughout Spain to help make it a reality.

Published: 4 October 2022 10:22 CEST
Updated: 8 January 2023 08:28 CET
SPAIN-HOUSING-YOUNG-PEOPLE
Buying a home in a rural location is one the ways young people in Spain can climb on the property ladder. (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON / AFP)

Many young people in Spain who can afford to move out of their parent’s house cannot yet afford to buy their own home, with down payments and securing a mortgage two of the biggest problems.

According to FotoCasa six in 10 young people in Spain between the ages of 18 and 34 have tried to buy a property, but without success.

The Emancipation Observatory of the Spanish Youth Council (CJE) adds that currently in Spain 59.2 percent of young people rent, while only 17.4 percent own their own property and pay a mortgage. Data shows that most Spaniards aren’t able to buy their own property until they are 41 years old. 

Luckily there are now several government schemes across the country that aim to help young people get on the property ladder. Here are 10 ways that under-35s can get help to buy their first home.

Buying a home in a rural location

The Spanish government introduced a subsidy of €10,800 for those under 35 who wish to purchase a property in towns or villages with less than 10,000 inhabitants, in a bid to help solve the problem of declining rural populations, as well as the issue of young people not being able to afford to buy a home. This is available until December 2022 and can be applied for through the authorities in your region. 

Andalusia

Andalusia announced its ‘First Home Programme’ earlier this year, which is independent but runs parallel to the State Housing Plan. It includes aid of up to €10,800 for the acquisition of habitual residence for young people under 35.

Castilla y León

Those in Castilla y León can apply for aid if they want to live in the province of Soria. Aid is available up to 50 percent, up to a maximum of €5,000 to buy in rural areas within the province. People up to the age of 36 can apply. Find out more on how to apply here. 

Canary Islands

Young people from the Canary Islands can apply for a housing benefit in 2022 of 20 percent of the cost of the property up to a maximum of €11,000. You are eligible up until the age of 36. Find out more about the aid here. 

Galicia

Galicia is giving assistance to those wanting to buy in the historic centres of towns and cities. Those aged 35 and under can get up to €12,800 to help them do this, which in turn will help to revive and rejuvenate the oldest parts of the region. You need to apply here before November 15th in order to be in with a chance. 

Madrid

In July 2022, the government of Madrid announced an aid package for young people aged 35 and under. The banks, along with the government of Madrid, will grant mortgage loans for amounts greater than 80 percent and up to 95 percent of the value of the property, provided that the purchase price doesn’t exceed €390,000.

READ ALSO: Why Madrid is now the easiest place in Spain for under-35s to buy their first home

Murcia

The government of Murcia guarantees an aid package of 20 percent, up to €10,850 for those up to the age of 35 who want to buy their own home by getting a mortgage loan. Find out more and apply for the aid here. 

Valencia region

In Spain’s Valencia region, the Ministry of Housing and Bioclimatic Architecture aims to help make it possible for young people to buy a home who might not otherwise be able to, as well as help towns and villages that are at risk from de-population. The amount each applicant can get will be 20 percent of the value of the price of a house, up to a maximum of €10,800 per person. The cost of the property cannot exceed €120,000 and it must be your main and permanent home. It is available to those up to the age of 35.

READ ALSO: How young people in Spain’s Valencia region can get €10k to buy a home

Aid for large families

Large families or familias numerosas as they are called in Spanish are defined as families who have four or more children. Large families can also benefit from state aid when buying a property, which is €10,800 as long as it does not exceed 20 percent of the property price. When buying a property, these families can also get help by benefiting from a discount on the payment of the Property Transfer Tax (ITP), up to four percent on second-hand purchases. 

Aid for renting

If you can’t yet afford to buy your own property, there are several benefit schemes for young people to be able to move out of their parent’s home and be able to rent instead. The Bono Alquiler Joven allows those between 18 and 35 to get €250 per month to go towards rent and is available across the country. There are various other schemes in different regions too. Find out more and apply here. 

Be aware, most of these schemes are only available for certain amounts of time and strictly for those who do not already own a property. There may also be prerequisites on the amount of time you have lived in each region. For example, those wanting to benefit from the aid package in Madrid must have lived in the region for the two years leading up to their application.

There are also certain limits as to the amount you can earn in order to be eligible for the benefit. In Valencia, your income must be equal to or less than three times the IPREM (€6984.24 per year for 2022).

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PROPERTY

Why Spain is looking to Vienna to fix its housing crisis

Spain is trailing behind the rest of the EU when it comes to social housing and has one of the lowest proportions of stock, so could replicating the Austrian capital's model be the solution?

Published: 26 April 2024 10:50 CEST
Why Spain is looking to Vienna to fix its housing crisis

According to figures from Spain’s Land and Housing Observatory, in 2020 just 2.5 percent of total constructions in Spain were for social housing, far lower than in countries such as Austria, where it was 24 percent, the Netherlands, with 30 percent, and Denmark at 20.9 percent. 

Spain is one of a small handful of EU countries that have surprisingly low social housing provisions. Spain ranks 18th in the EU overall and is joined at the bottom of the table by countries such as Romania (1.5 percent), Estonia (1.7 percent), Croatia (1.8 percent) and Portugal (2 percent).

Spain’s 2.5 percent figures are also much lower than the wider European average of 9.3 percent. In recent years, Spain has not even managed to complete 10,000 social housing units per year, compared to 60,000 a decade ago.

READ ALSO – EXPLAINED: How Spain plans to address its huge lack of social housing

Furthermore, public housing has become increasingly privatised in recent years, affecting most of the almost 2.5 million subsidised homes built since 1981, when the first plan was approved. In 2012, the construction of social housing plummeted and dropped from 50,000 homes annually to just 9,200 in 2022.

The Viennese model

For decades now, Vienna, the Austrian capital, has increased its stock of price-controlled social housing and has stood out for its housing policy.

Although there is social housing throughout the country, the majority of it is concentrated in the capital city. 

The Vienna City Council has become the biggest homeowner in Europe – around 60 percent of residents live in one of 220,000 properties subsidised by the public sector, and the city invests up to €600 million annually in affordable housing models.

By increasing social housing and limiting rent, the value of housing has also been limited and prices have been regulated. For example, in Vienna, rent is around €9 per m/2, according to the consulting firm Deloitte.

This figure is much lower than that of the rest of the European capitals, compared to London or Paris, for example, where the rental price per m/2 is around €30. In comparison, rent in Barcelona and Madrid is around €17 and €14 m/2 respectively.

The requirements to be able to access social housing in Vienna are also very broad. Basically, you need to be 17 years old or older, be registered Vienna and earn more than €43,000 net annually. Rent can also not represent more than 30 percent of your income.

READ ALSO: Spain needs to build 1.2 million affordable rental homes in a decade

How Spain is planning on replicating the Vienna model

Spain, like many EU countries, has begun to turn towards the Viennese model.

Madrid in particular hopes to increase the real estate stock by 70,000 homes in four years, of which up to 40,000 will be dedicated to social housing according to regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

Like in Vienna, Madrid hopes to balance the real estate market naturally without limiting prices. For example, in Vienna where the private real estate stock has been regulated, 60 square meter homes can vary between €600 and €700 per month. This is almost impossible in Madrid and Barcelona, where a home with the same characteristics can exceed more than €1,000 per month.

The Spanish government recently approved a plan to allocate 50,000 ‘Sareb’ homes to bolster its dwindling social housing stock. La Sociedad de Gestión de Activos Procedentes de la Reestructuración Bancaria or ‘Sareb’ was created eleven years ago to buy real estate assets from banks that went bankrupt during the 2008 financial crisis, and has been state-run since 2022.

Sánchez followed up on this 50,000 pledge by announcing the financing of a further 43,000 homes for social housing paid for with €4 billion of European funds.

“I want to announce that, in addition to the mobilisation of 50,000 Sareb homes, we are going to finance the development of another 43,000 new homes for social rent and rent at affordable prices,” the Prime Minister said.

He also criticised Spain’s “embarrassing” social housing stock compared to Europe, and reinforced his “commitment” to “move forward so that housing is a right and not a problem for the majority of citizens”. 

Having an extensive public housing stock allows prices to be lowered and ensures that there’s sufficient supply.

Christian Schantl, the head of the International Relations department of the public company Wiener Wohnen, the entity that manages public rentals in the city of Vienna, has advised Spain that to do this, they should not sell public housing under any circumstances.

In an interview with El País he said: “You cannot completely copy and paste the system, it would not work. One thing [the Spanish Government] should not do is sell its public housing. This is very important because many cities in Europe have made that mistake and are now facing serious problems. So that’s the first thing: never sell what you have. And then, there are some elements that are important to take into account, such as the financial situation, the necessary land, the legal framework and housing policies,” he continued.

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