The housing spokesperson for Sumar in Congress and Compromís deputy, Alberto Ibáñez, has proposed that the State allocate 2 billion euros to the purchase of already built homes, including properties from individuals and investment funds, with the aim of strengthening the public housing stock immediately.
Ibáñez has framed this initiative, which he describes as “historic,” due to the increase in prices both in rent and in the purchase of housing, pointing among the causes to the entry of large investors and the growth of tourist and seasonal apartments.
According to their data, one in three people who live in rented accommodation has been forced to change neighborhoods in the last year, a situation that, in their words, is “very serious” due to its impact on the social fabric and in areas such as health or education.
The deputy has defended that the direct acquisition of housing would allow a faster response than the construction of new buildings: “Building and tendering public works is profoundly heavy and slow. We don't have time to build, we have to buy what already exists,” he has stated.
Ibáñez has also raised the possibility that the State intervene when large funds decide to sell asset portfolios, with the aim of incorporating those properties into the public housing stock, and has questioned the model focused on increasing supply through new construction.
In this regard, he has argued that Spain is already above the European average in the number of homes per inhabitant and has warned that public housing policies of the 1980s and 1990s resulted in residential concentrations in peripheral areas. “What needs to be done is a massive purchase of public housing,” he pointed out.
The deputy spokesperson for Sumar has also called for a more ambitious application of the Housing Law and has cited measures such as the extension of rental contracts foreseen for 2026 and 2027, while also urging the Ministry of Housing, led by Isabel Rodríguez, to exercise its powers to intervene in the real estate market.
