Through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the Government of La Rioja has 31 million euros available for the development of housing policies, of which 27.94 million euros have already been transferred to it, mainly to promote energy rehabilitation and urban regeneration.
The delegate of the Government in La Rioja, Beatriz Arraiz Nalda, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural World, Territory and Population, Eva Hita, and the Director General of Territorial Policy, Urbanism and Housing, Javier Caldito, reported this morning on housing policies in the autonomous community promoted through the PRTR, which become an historic opportunity provided by Next Generation EU funds to promote sustainable housing, buildings and cities, which will contribute to the fulfillment of European and national commitments in the field of energy and climate.
Arraiz Nalda has pointed out that the central executive is promoting a paradigm shift over the conception of previous executives who considered housing to be a market good and not a commodity of prime necessity. “Housing is becoming one of the cornerstones of the political action of the Government of Spain and for this it is promoting the rehabilitation of the built park, as well as the increase of the social rental housing park in energy-efficient buildings, contributing to the activation of this sector and to the generation of employment and activity in the short term.”
For her part, Councilor Eva Hita stressed that “the governments of Spain and La Rioja are committed to greater social, economic and environmental sustainability in the field of housing”. In this sense, he added that “it is time to reach the levels of urban rehabilitation and regeneration of countries in our environment and to address urban rehabilitation and regeneration to meet the sustainable objectives of the European Union”.
To this end, the head of Housing policies in the Government of La Rioja has assured that “we are increasing the rehabilitative activity with resources, with a coordinated policy between the administrations, with the necessary public-private collaboration and with a leading role of the citizens. And from a commitment to the most vulnerable populations in favor of the availability of accessible and sustainable housing.”
Programs to promote more sustainable housing and environments
This effort is embodied in the following programmes defined for this purpose, with a joint allocation of close to 31 million euros, of which 27.94 million have already been transferred by the Government of Spain to that of La Rioja.
Specifically, the Rehabilitation Program for Economic and Social Recovery in Residential Environments includes: Support for district and building level rehabilitation and for improving energy efficiency in housing; support for rehabilitation offices; and support for the preparation of the building book and the drafting of rehabilitation projects.
In addition, the Program of Construction of Social and Affordable Rental Homes in Energy-Efficient Buildings is also included. To this end, the Government of La Rioja has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) for the construction by the IRVI of 72 energy-efficient public housing units in Alfaro, Torrecilla en Cameros and Calsalvo. The goal is to achieve the construction of 140 energy-efficient homes for affordable rent in La Rioja.
As for the Programme to Promote the Rehabilitation of Public Buildings (PIREP), in La Rioja there will be performances in public buildings: in Logroño, in the UNED building and the Secondary Education Institutes Duques de Nájera and Tomás Mingot; in Arnedo, in the IES Celso Díaz and Virgen de Vico; in Calsalvo, in the Museum of Romanization; and in Haro, in the Oenological Station.
Finally, the Director General of Territorial Policy, Urbanism and Housing, Javier Caldito, explained that the central and regional governments have quantitative and qualitative funds and objectives. “In La Rioja, we have 1,117 homes as an energy efficient rehabilitation target by 2026 with the promotion of the funds of component 2 of the PRTR,” he said. So far, it has specified that the Government of Rioja has already formalized around 800 applications for housing actions.
Neighborhood Rehabilitation Program
In addition, Caldito has highlighted for its contribution the neighborhood scale rehabilitation program for the financing of the joint realization of rehabilitation works in buildings of predominant use residences and homes, including single-family homes, and of urbanization or reurbanization of public spaces within areas of action called Residential Environments of Programmed Rehabilitation, previously delimited, in municipalities of any size of population.
In this regard, it has announced the upcoming signing of the agreement with Mitma to initiate the first urban regeneration projects scale neighborhood in La Rioja in Calahorsa and Logroño, which would act on about 240 homes in these two municipalities.
Regarding the housing scale energy rehabilitation program, which has recalled that it is still open, it aims to finance actions or works to improve energy efficiency in housing. The amount of the grant will be 40 percent of the cost of the action, with a limit of 3,000 euros.