To cover their vital needs and participate actively in society, every person needs access to decent housing. For young people, as they start forming their own home, housing will condition their emancipation and autonomy, which in turn will ultimately condition the population’s fertility rate. For families faced with the growth of their households, their housing will condition their access to work, education and social opportunities. And for elderly people, in the process of reduction of their households, housing quality will condition the quality of their ageing. 

Within the current context, with many people suffering difficulties in accessing housing due to socioeconomic reasons, all system agents can make a contribution to facilitate people’s lives. This idea led to the creation of the Affordable Rental Programme.

The programme has identified these three collectives as priority groups with regard to affordable housing needs: people aged between 18 and 35 years, people aged over 65 years, and adults with children in their care. For these groups, five-year rental contracts are offered, at a rental rate below that established in the official Protection Programme and with a deposit equivalent to one month’s rent.

To be able to access the programme, it Is necessary to hold Spanish nationality or a permanent residency permit. Beneficiaries cannot be total or partial owners of any home. A minimum annual income is demanded, which according to the promotion ranges from 8,000 to 28,000 euros, and maximum income cannot exceed 4.5 times the value of the IPREM (Multiplier for the Public Income Index).

Since the programme’s launch, 4,000 homes have been rented under these conditions. The average rental price of each housing unit is 331 euros per month. The target audience is mainly young people: they represent 75% of the beneficiaries and have an average period of stay of 5.7 years. Meanwhile, elderly people make up 4% of users, with an average period of stay of 7.3 years. In relation to other socially vulnerable groups, a total of 45 people with reduced mobility or some degree of disability have been able to gain access to housing adapted to their needs.

In 2017, the last year for which consolidated data exist, 92 new flat rental contracts were signed and 766 pre-existing contracts were renewed for an extra three-year term.