Andalucía tackles the region's housing crisis with new law that seeks to increase supply and reduce prices

The governing council of the Junta de Andalucía is in the middle of approving one of the most important texts of the current legislature: the draft of the new Ley de Vivienda de Andalucía housing law. The goal is to have it immediately submitted to parliament for approval before regional elections are called. "We face a challenge and we're behind schedule because no reforms have been made in the last decade and a half," acknowledged Junta president, Juanma Moreno, although he did mention the approval of the 'Lista' land law during his first term of office for the regional government.

To highlight the significance of the approval of the new bill, Moreno opted for an unusual approach to presenting an initiative of this type: an event at the San Telmo Palace attended by mayors, the president of the Spanish federation of municipalities and provinces (Femp) and mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, and relevant stakeholders involved in the housing sector. The objective was to demonstrate that the severe housing crisis affecting the entire country has been tackled in this region from what Moreno and his team call the "Andalusian way", involving dialogue with associations, professional groups and, in this case, also with the town councils. In drafting the bill, Moreno noted, regional housing minister Rocío Díaz's team received contributions from around 50 organisations and also from individual citizens.

The formula with which the Junta intends to respond to the housing crisis and what the law is seeking to address, is to increase supply by making available as much land as possible, thereby achieving a reduction in prices. "Not enough has been built for many years," said the Junta president, who noted that the situation is unsustainable from a social and economic perspective. According to Fadeco (a trade association in the construction industry), the housing shortfall in Andalucía is around 200,000 homes.

For this reason, Moreno stressed that the first objective is to put more homes on the market to prevent prices from continuing to rise. Doing so, he said, "is an exercise in responsibility that citizens must demand and that the Andalusian government is taking on".

After pointing out that interventionism has not worked, Moreno stated that Andalucía is developing its own model for public housing policies, which has been working and generating results for years. Thanks to the policies implemented by the regional government, the development of subsidised housing (VPOs) has quadrupled in the last six years compared to the previous period (13,000 as opposed to 3,200). He stated that more than 2,000 people in Andalucía have now been able to access their first home thanks to the mortgage guarantee from the Junta and that some 250,000 people in the region benefited from the housing tax package last year, saving 460 million euros. He also highlighted the shock plan included in the decree to build 20,000 VPOs over the next five years.

The president stressed that the draft law is designed to generate more social housing for sale and rent throughout Andalucía and that its approval, which will take place during the current legislature, will put an end to the regulatory dispersion and allow for a "serious and effective" response to what he considers to be one of the primary and most serious social concerns of today.

Moreno considered it "terrible and painful" that there are those who cannot access the basic right to have a place to live and that many people have had to leave their towns and cities due to the impossibility of accessing housing there.

The president asserted that Andalucía is a pioneer in addressing the housing problem with this new law. The region is doing so with the goal of "providing the means, generating trust and establishing the best possible conditions to increase the supply of affordable housing in our region".

According to Moreno, one of the goals to be achieved is to provide more land for affordable, protected housing. He commented that some of the measures have already been in place since the decree law was passed this year to speed up their implementation. Among them, he highlighted the creation of a land pool and the discovery of already developed land kept in reserve that is available for immediate construction.

Furthermore, he stressed, the law will make it possible to change the use of land, so that land intended for offices or other uses could be used to build subsidised housing. He also highlighted that the law will promote municipal housing plans and the use of public land, guaranteeing that at least 25% will be used to build such as VPOs. To achieve this, he explained, it will be necessary for municipal councils to play a leading role.

The law will also include measures regarding quality and refurbishment, as the existing housing stock is ageing, and will promote urban regeneration, the eradication of substandard housing and action in rundown neighbourhoods.

According to the president, once the law gains parliamentary approval and comes into full effect, this will lead to an increase in the supply of subsidised housing, more rental construction, more public-private collaborations and less bureaucracy.

He also highlighted other relevant aspects included in the law in terms of housing use and management, quality and refurbishment, neighbourhood regeneration and the eradication of substandard housing.