Madrid tightens public housing access with five-year residency rule

Madrid's mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, announced a new regulation requiring five years of continuous residence in the city to access public housing, alongside a ban on those convicted of illegal occupation or rent non-payment Source: infobae, lavanguardia. The measure also expands the income threshold to 7.5 times the IPREM and introduces a rent-to-own program with 1,600 units.

Key changes

The new EMVS (Municipal Housing and Land Company) regulation establishes two residency requirements: five consecutive years of registration or eight years within the last ten. Applicants must not own other property and cannot have been convicted of occupation-related crimes, rent arrears, or eviction proceedings in the past five years. Monthly rent is capped at 30% of household income Source: infobae.

Political clash

During the Debate on the State of the City, Almeida contrasted his government's record—10,000 public homes managed, 5,500 built in seven years—with the 17 built by the previous left-wing coalition led by Más Madrid. He quipped that "caben más personas en la casita de Bad Bunny que en las 17 promovidas por la izquierda" Source: lavanguardia. The opposition leader, Rita Maestre, was the target of this remark.

What's next

The city aims to have over 8,000 homes under development by year-end, via the EMVS and public-private partnerships. A third phase of the Plan Suma Vivienda is expected to be tendered soon Source: lavanguardia, infobae.