Valencia Raises Age Limit for Affordable Rental Housing

The Valencia City Council has announced an increase in the maximum eligible age for affordable rental housing from 35 to 45 years, as part of a new package of measures aimed at addressing the housing crisis, increasing supply, and lowering prices in the city.

The plan, launched by Mayor María José Catalá, seeks to reflect the city’s new social reality and support residents committed to long-term living in Valencia. It raises the required residency period in the city for joining the waiting list to seven years and prioritizes long-term ties to the city.

The plan also includes the creation of a municipal rental agency that ensures landlords receive rent payments for reasonably priced units, promotes public housing through 500,000 square meters of unused land left idle for over 35 years, and establishes agreements with developers to reserve private sector units for the municipal housing registry, reducing waiting lists and lowering prices by up to 20% compared to the market.

In terms of urban planning, the council intends to increase housing density, facilitate the conversion of tourist apartments into residential units, and divide large homes, which is expected to add around 6,000 new residential units.

Catalá emphasized that Valencia has shifted from a city that did not build public housing to one delivering large-scale housing projects. She highlighted the importance of Spanish government involvement in constructing additional units on state-owned land, such as the Artillery Park site and military barracks, which could provide more than 800 affordable homes.

Over the past two and a half years, the local government has completed 446 public housing units, is currently building an additional 1,000 units, and has issued construction permits for 845 more, as part of a comprehensive plan to build 13,000 new homes.

The opposition criticized the plan, arguing it lacks effective measures to reduce housing and rental prices, describing some proposals as unrealistic and focusing on restricting access to public housing rather than genuinely improving it.

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