The Government has approved direct subsidies worth 45 million euros to finance the construction, expansion or rehabilitation of university residences in seven Spanish cities, a first phase that will create nearly 2,000 new places for students, teachers and researchers.
The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the royal decree by which the Autonomous University of Madrid will benefit, with 13.36 million euros; the Albacete Campus of the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), with 8.19 million; the Pablo de Olavide University of Seville, with 6.5 million; the University of Burgos, with 5.94 million; the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, with 4.45 million; the University of Jaén, with 3.56 million; and the City Council of Lleida, with 2.97 million.
According to the text of the decree, to which EFE has had access, the objective is that, through public-private collaboration, the residential offer for students, teaching staff and researchers will be expanded with affordable prices within a period of six years, although the beneficiary entity may request an extension of up to three additional years.
Academic mobility and pressure on rent
The norm underlines that this measure will facilitate academic mobility and reduce pressure on the rental market in university cities, in a context marked by the increase in the number of enrolled students and by the internationalization of universities.
The decree points out that the availability and cost of accommodation can condition academic mobility, the choice of center and degree, as well as effective equality of opportunities in access to and permanence in higher education. In addition, it recalls that the latest Living Conditions Survey by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicates that 67% of people aged 16 or over who wanted to change housing have not been able to do so due to the excessive price.
A plan agreed between ministries and universities
The Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, has indicated that the Government wants to "accompany universities and facilitate access where it is most needed and to whom it is most needed," after detecting that, especially, many university students have had to give up studying in certain cities due to the cost of accommodation.
Rodríguez added that this should be an "inspiring" plan for other public administrations. The minister also explained that the decree was drafted after an agreement in 2024 between the ministries of Housing, Economy and Universities, and that the selection of projects was carried out in collaboration with the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE).
Most of the actions, as she detailed, are located on public or university land already available and urbanistically consolidated, and the most advanced projects have been chosen. The minister stressed that the "housing crisis is torpedoing" a right enshrined in the Constitution.
Affordable price conditions and services included
The decree establishes that the developments must maintain their public purpose and affordable price conditions, which will be set by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda in the corresponding resolutions or agreements.
This maximum price will include services such as electricity, water and wifi connection, among others. The norm adds that the creation of these new places will improve equal opportunities in access to university, especially for displaced students or those with less economic capacity, and will also contribute to reducing pressure on the ordinary residential rental market.
The text also recalls that the number of students enrolled in Spanish universities is almost 2 million students.
The initiative reached the Council of Ministers after concluding its public hearing process on September 9 and will not require validation by the Cortes Generales.
