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With housing stock at an all-time low throughout Spain and rental prices spiralling higher and higher, the Region of Murcia has taken the proactive but rather radical decision to allow land allocated for sports, cultural and social facilities be instead used to build subsidised or rental properties.

 

The measure will be included in the new affordable housing decree that the regional government is working on at the moment and refers to any plot in the urban plans of the Region of Murcia’s 45 municipalities. However, the Ministry of Public Works has made it clear that land where educational or healthcare facilities are planned is off the table.

 

To help speed up the construction of affordable housing, the regional government is introducing a new plan called the ‘Special Urban Development Plan for Social Housing’. This will make it easier for local councils to set aside land specifically for affordable housing by including it in their general development plans.

 

The plan will also allow for exceptions, like increasing the number of homes that can be built on a piece of land or allowing different types of housing in the same area.

 

One of the biggest goals of the new law is to cut down on red tape for developers building affordable housing. During meetings with the Regional Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Jorge García Montoro, industry leaders stressed the need to simplify the process. In response, the government has agreed to eliminate a key bureaucratic step called the “progress document,” except in cases involving major changes to urban plans.

 

According to the ministry, this change alone will reduce the approval time for development plans by about a year.

 

In addition, the decree will fast-track all administrative procedures related to affordable housing. These will now be treated as urgent, cutting the time needed to complete them by half.

 

The regional government also plans to support collaborative housing (or ‘cohousing), which is a living model where residents have private homes but share common spaces. It will also introduce incentives to increase building capacity, aiming to boost the overall supply of housing.

 

Another part of the plan allows commercial spaces or buildings, like shops or offices, to be converted into homes for social housing. It also aims to increase housing options for young people by renovating unfinished or abandoned buildings and turning them into liveable homes.

 

With regards to the younger generation, the plan will be specifically aimed at those who earn no more than 6.5 times the public income index (Iprem), which works out to about €54,600 per year (spread across 14 payments). Since the average salary in the Region is around €20,000, most young people would qualify for this housing.

 

“The affordable housing decree will allow for exceptional, temporary and urgent flexibility in municipal general development plans (PGMO), allowing for the construction of buildings with affordable housing, instead of terraced houses (traditionally more expensive in economic terms).

 

“This measure will increase the housing stock by eliminating the restriction imposed on certain plots in the development plans, without modifying the planning, in order to expand the housing supply for young people and middle-class families,” a government spokesperson summed up.

 

 

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