· The delegate has visited the grounds of the former Engineering Headquarters where the Government will build “urgently” 438 “100% affordable” homes
· Bernabé calls for collaboration of all administrations to “within their competences, options and possibilities” solve the housing problem
The delegate of the Government in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, has visited the grounds of the former Engineering Headquarters, where, “immediately”, the Government will build 438 homes, as announced yesterday by Minister Isabel Rodríguez. The construction of these homes will be promoted directly from the new public company that will create the Central Executive on the basis of the SEPES “to ensure that they are 100% affordable”.
According to the delegate, the works of urbanization of this area began last December and “this week will begin the tasks of clearing”. “Before the start of the summer, the urbanization will be completed and the project is expected to tender in the autumn of this year,” he added.
This is “a very positive news in which collaboration must take precedence, since co-responsibility is necessary”. The Government of Spain - said the delegate - "has these lands and has started this urbanization work and is going to start the construction of these homes. Now, each administration, within its competencies and options and possibilities, will do everything in its power to solve the housing problem.”
In this regard, the delegate has called for the Government’s action in the area of housing. Bernabé stressed that “housing is not a business for the Government of Spain and, therefore, will continue to bet on public housing and public intervention in the housing market”. In this regard, he recalled that “for this Government, housing is the fifth pillar of the Welfare State.”
The amendment of the Law on Contracts to promote public-private collaboration and combat the deficit in the construction of affordable housing, the fiscal bonuses to promote the rehabilitation of homes and the provision of all the real estate assets of the State to turn them into homes are some of the measures approved by the Government to increase the supply of affordable housing. Added to these are regulatory initiatives to ensure the protection of the social function of housing and to combat speculation.
Bernabé has also defended the Law for the Right to Housing that “allows to have means for the containment of housing prices” and that has already “demonstrated its usefulness in other autonomous communities”, so he demands that the Generalitat Valenciana use it.