New housing law 2022: Everything you need to know.

What is the new housing law?

The new Law on the Right to Housing defines what it considers to be decent and appropriate housing, that is, a property that is in a condition and with the comforts to be inhabited without this entailing an unfeasible economic effort. It was necessary to create a new regulation that would protect tenants and facilitate housing for young people and families.

With the aim that every citizen has access to a home, the regulation establishes a series of measures that we will present below.  

Essential aspects of the new housing law 2022

The law deals with and regulates very different aspects, the most salient of which are the following:

Public rentals in new developments: With the advent of this new law, the government wants to reserve 30% of the housing destined for the public housing stock as social housing. In addition, half of this percentage must be earmarked for social renting to facilitate access to housing for vulnerable families.

Tax advantages for small property owners: Landlords with less than 10 homes in their possession have the possibility of benefiting from large discounts and tax incentives.

The bonuses established by the 2022 housing law to encourage lower rental prices are as follows:

– 50% discount: For all owners who rent their property.

– 70% bonus: If it is rented for the first time to young people between 18 and 35 years of age, or if it is a new contract with improvements or rehabilitation.

– 90% bonus: If the rental price is lowered in stressed areas, i.e., those that have experienced an increase in rents and, as a consequence, households suffer a greater financial burden when paying them.

Tax increase on empty homes:  One of the objectives of this new law is to encourage the rental of those properties that have been empty for more than two years and belong to owners with more than four properties in the same municipality. Specifically, if such requirements are met, taxes will be increased on such properties and the surcharge will be on the IBI and up to 150%.

Young rental assistance voucher:  One of the key points of this housing law 2022 is the help of the young rent bonus that aims to reduce the average age of emancipation of Spaniards, which stands at 29.8 years old.

This benefit will benefit young people between 18 and 35 years old who live in rented housing and who do not exceed an annual income of 23,725 euros, with a bonus of 250 euros per month for a maximum period of two years. 

This assistance cannot be applied for by several people living in the same property, however, it may be complemented with other benefits for the payment of rent.

Creation of affordable housing:  The incentivized affordable housing comes with the objective of offering the opportunity to buy a home to those individuals or families who do not have access to pay market prices. The purpose of this measure is to increase the amount of properties with a more accessible price and thus promote the sale and purchase among people with lower incomes and incomes. All this counting on the benefits, fiscal and urbanistic, that the owners will have.

Stressed zone declaration: Limitation of rental prices in stressed areas. It will apply to large landlords, who will have to adapt prices to the reference index of the zone. Municipalities will have 18 months to establish these values.

Main objective: Incentivize renting

As you have been able to observe, the novelties that have been introduced focus especially on renting. 

Therefore, and by way of summary, what is intended with the new housing law in Spain is: to encourage renting to ensure that all citizens have access to housing, as well as to benefit landlords through bonuses with the aim of lowering the price of their rents.

However, some professionals in the sector are not so sure that all these innovations will be positive for the country… But we will see.

Beyond the regulatory changes, the real estate market is still in continuous movement, so this is a good time for buying and selling homes and for renting. 

 

In Espígul, we are professionals and experts in Real Estate, we will accompany you from start to finish whether you want to buy or sell a home, as if you want to rent. Contact us for more information!