The plan comes as housing routinely comes up as Spaniards' top concern, according to state pollster CIS. Rising rental and housing costs are currently pricing many Spaniards out of the market, with housing costs in Spain rising nearly 13% year-on-year at the end of 2025, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Incomes have failed to keep up with escalating housing prices despite a recent economic boom.
Spain lacks public housing compared to the European average, ranking near the bottom of OECD countries with public housing for rent, with under 2% of available supply. The OECD average for public housing for rent is 7%, while in France it is 14%, Britain 16%, and the Netherlands 34%. In the past, Spain built housing with public funds that later passed into private ownership, and once sold, publicly funded housing disappeared from the public housing stock.
The new plan is designed to triple government investment in public housing over the next four years. About 40% of the money will be earmarked for growing the public housing supply, while 30% will be set aside for property renovations that include making homes more energy-efficient and building in depopulated parts of the country. The plan ensures that subsidised housing cannot be reclassified after a few years.
The rest of the money will go toward subsidies, with a focus on young people, and the plan includes specific help for young renters and prospective home buyers. Analysts suggest increased tourism and population growth in cities, often driven by immigration, have further strained housing supply.
Specific measures in the subsidies for young people and the timeline for implementing various components of the plan have not been detailed. How exactly the plan will triple government investment in public housing over four years and address the impact of tourism and immigration on housing supply remains unclear, as do the criteria for accessing subsidised housing and renovation funds.