Malaga raises requirements for access to social housing

Malaga city council has announced an important amendment in the regulation for accessing subsidised housing that could be approved soon. While previously applicants had to be registered residents of the city for a minimum of one year, now the city council plans to increase this period.

The amendment has received the majority votes of the local leading parties and the opposition's rejection.

Vox party deputy spokesperson Yolanda Gómez strongly defended the requirement of residency for access to social housing, pointing out that Estepona had already increased the residency requirement to three years for preferential access. Housing councillor Paco Pomares also expressed his support for this measure and highlighted similar measures in other municipalities, such as Barcelona and Bilbao (three years) and Madrid (five).

"Yes to more housing at affordable prices for the people of Malaga," Pomares said to conclude the debate. He said that the housing department is currently working on modifying the 2012 regulation, which then needs to be adapted to current realities and incorporate the changes introduced by the new regional housing law, which came into effect in January this year.

Pomares declined to specify the exact number of years residents will need to have been registered in Malaga to apply for social housing. He said that the municipal groups would soon have access to the draft, which, like all municipal regulations, must be approved by the full council. According to the municipal housing institute (IMV), there are currently about 34,466 applicants for subsidised housing in Malaga.

The left wing strongly opposed this motion. Socialist councillor Pablo Orellana said that the initiative sends a "xenophobic message". He said that many residents had been forced to outside Malaga. According to him, making it difficult for them to register their years of residency would make it impossible for them to return to the city.

Pomares said that this measure needs to be carefully studied to facilitate access to subsidised housing for Malaga residents who live outside the city due to studies or work, but who wish to return.

For deputy spokesperson of Con Málaga Toni Morillas, the amendment is a "shameful, racist and xenophobic initiative from Vox" - a party that recently opposed the extraordinary regularisation of migrants and supported the burka ban. Morillas said that, the way Vox are approaching the status of migrants, they will soon start "asking the migrant population for blood tests".