The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda on Wednesday presented the new State Housing Corporation that will replace CEBIS as the capitalization body for public housing policies. Starting next Tuesday, when officially approved by the Council of Ministers, this new entity will be called “House 47,” in reference to Chapter 47 of the Constitution, which includes the right of citizens to adequate housing. The sector’s minister, Isabel Rodriguez, celebrated, saying: “It is irreversible progress. We are doing something good for Spain.”
Getting to this point has taken a year of work. During the last federal congress of the PSOE, held in December 2024, the head of government, Pedro Sánchez, announced the will of his executive government to transform the current public commercial land entity, known as Sepes, into a new body that monitors and implements the entire housing construction cycle. The process will conclude next week.
“We are taking a giant step in strengthening the welfare state,” said Rodriguez, who stressed that all public housing built through this new entity will maintain their protected status indefinitely. The Minister stressed that “what was born public must remain public”, and also announced that her ministry would launch “as soon as possible” a public offer with funding of 100 million euros to be able to add more homes to the public park that will be managed by Casa 47.
In addition, he explained that the lease contracts that will be created for these affordable homes will reach 75 years “for life.” Although it will be necessary to ensure that the requirements are met, because the initial signing will give the right to a 14-year lease that will later be renewed with 7-year extensions (although the latter will last for five years, to adapt to the maximum term of 75 years). In each of these expansions, it will be examined whether conditions for continued public housing choice have been maintained.
The requirements that will be asked of tenants are, essentially, that interested parties charge rents between 2 and 7.5 times IPREM (Index of Public Income Multi-Effect), which is 8,400 euros. That is, the range covers people with a gross income of €16,000 per year, up to €63,000. However, to the first economic filter, other filters of an inherited nature will be added that were not specified by the ministry.
Through these limits, the housing hopes to benefit “up to 60% of the population”, in addition to the most vulnerable groups, such as young people. The formula also benefits “the working class,” as the minister emphasized. The Ministry’s calculations indicate that rents do not exceed 30% of the average income of tenants, which is an agreed-upon barrier in the sector to ensure payment and adequacy of resources. For this reason, the final price of the leases will be determined based on the average income of the area.
60% of beneficiaries
In this way, the public rental prices promoted by Casa47, which aspires to become a real estate portal for housing search like Idealista or Photocasa, will be much lower than current thresholds, especially in cities where pressures have risen significantly in recent years. The Minister indicated that according to her ministry’s calculations, the prices offered in Madrid by the public company will be 38% lower than the current prices; As in Malaga, another very tense city, these amounts will be halved, reaching between “about 680 and 690 euros.”
In the promotions carried out by the company, after ensuring that the building materials “will be of the highest quality,” the criterion for calculating the rental price “for the first time,” according to Rodriguez, will be based on “what citizens can pay,” and not “what it costs.” “You have to plan carefully, see where it is necessary to build or rehabilitate, and do it with resources and financing,” the minister said. “There is no one left here,” he concluded.