Renting a 60-square-meter apartment in Madrid cost around 1,400 euros per month at the price at which homes were advertised in October. This is the market faced by those looking for a home in the capital, with an asking price of 23.4 euros per square meter, 4.5% more than a year ago, according to the Idealista index. This Thursday, the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, once again placed housing at the center of his discourse. In his last budgets before the municipal elections, the area responsible for this policy receives 248 of the 6,901 million euros planned for 2027.
The Governing Board has initially approved accounts that grow by 4.9% compared to 2026, with an additional 323 million. The housing budget increases by 10%, the largest percentage increase among government areas, and accounts for 3.6% of the budget of the City Council and its autonomous bodies. It includes both the promotion and management of public rental and the rehabilitation of buildings and neighborhood regeneration. The project will go to the Plenary in December, where the PP has an absolute majority.
The municipal quality of life survey itself provides a measure of the urgency. In 2025, 57.6% of residents placed the scarcity or cost of housing among Madrid's three main problems, compared to 37.5% the previous year. The increase in the budget will allow for the financing of more developments. For those who have to renew their rental agreement or move in the coming months, the important data is how many of these homes will be ready and when they can be applied for.
When the promised homes will arrive
The Municipal Housing and Land Company of Madrid (EMVS) will have its own budget of 199.6 million euros, of which 150.5 million come from the City Council's contribution. The nearly 9,000 homes that Almeida highlighted in the presentation group developments in different phases, from project or tender to construction. In 2027, the construction of 1,942 apartments in Vicálvaro, Barajas, Tetuán, and Arganzuela is planned to begin, and a new phase of the Suma Vivienda Plan with more than 1,400 affordable rentals will be contracted. The municipal objective is to close the fiscal year with a portfolio of about 10,500 homes.
The socialist spokesperson, Reyes Maroto, estimates the increase in the public housing stock at barely 500 flats by 2027 and more than 78,000 applicants registered with the municipal company. The first figure is an estimate of how much the stock will grow, and the second gives an idea of the volume of demand. The distance between the two explains why a promotion announced today may have little immediate effect for families already looking for affordable rent. Maroto also reproaches the mayor for continuing to sell municipal land and points to seven plots put on the market this week.
The City Council can also incorporate existing flats. The EMVS reserves 12.9 million euros for its housing purchase program and plans to add another 50 to affordable rent by mobilizing empty properties. These are ways that can put flats into use without waiting for construction to finish. The planned scale, especially in the empty housing program, remains small compared to the demand described by the PSOE.
IBI drops and Vallecas is still waiting
Almeida proposes his sixth reduction of the Property Tax (IBI). The general rate will go from 0.414% to 0.4%, the legal minimum, and the City Council estimates the savings for taxpayers at 31.2 million euros. For a bill subject to the general rate and with a taxable base of 100,000 euros, the cut represents 14 euros per year. With a base of 300,000 euros, it amounts to 42 euros. The reduction directly lowers the owner's bill, and its transfer to rent depends on the contract or the landlord's decision.
This is the measure that leads Rita Maestre, spokesperson for Más Madrid, to speak of budgets "designed by and for the ultra-rich". Maestre questions the distribution of savings among those with properties of different values and focuses on how the accounts are financed. The City Council expects to collect 79.4 million less in direct taxes due to the combined effect of the IBI reduction and bonuses and exemptions. At the same time, it expects to receive 364 million more in current transfers, an increase that exceeds that of total non-financial income. From the far-right Vox, Arantxa Cabello sees "continuity" accounts and has asked the municipal government to detail who receives social aid and under what criteria.
The project raises social spending to 1.355 billion, 85 more than in 2026, with 352 million for home care. The 21 districts will have 1.111 billion, a 4.7% increase. Latina, Puente de Vallecas, and Carabanchel lead the distribution in euros, while Salamanca registers the largest percentage increase, 9.1%. This difference matters when comparing the figures. Salamanca goes from about 30.5 to 33.3 million, while Puente de Vallecas is around 89 million. District allocations include spending managed by their boards, and central areas also finance works and services in the neighborhoods.
In Puente de Vallecas, the discrepancy is visible at street level. Cibeles plans to invest more than 11.5 million euros in reforming the area around the M-30 overpass, with new pedestrian crossings, changes to bus stops, and the pedestrianization of Monte Oliveti street. The bridge will remain standing. Neighborhood associations demand its dismantling and ask for those resources to be allocated to pending projects such as the municipal library on the same street or the Vallecas music school.
