“Access to decent, adequate and accessible housing is one of the strategic lines that the Government of Spain continues to promote in this legislature.” The Government delegate to La Roja, Beatriz Arraiz Nalda, has valued the housing policies promoted by the Central Executive in the autonomous community.
As Arraiz Nalda has pointed out, the objective of housing policies promoted by the central executive is to work to respond to the needs of citizens, improving access to housing. To this end, he pointed out that an important guarantee of public resources is available for this promotion of actions focused on access to housing by collecting the General State Budgets that have been extended by about 3.5 billion euros.
In this regard, he added that, in order to consolidate the right of access to housing as the fifth pillar of the Welfare State, resources are being mobilized at the disposal of all public administrations. Therefore, it has insisted that the collaboration of the central government with the autonomous and local entities is fundamental, as well as the coordination and complementation of funding for the actions that will be developed in the territory.
The Government delegate recalled that last week the Council of Ministers approved the allocation of 3 million euros to La Rioja for the rehabilitation of housing, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). This item corresponds to the “Rehabilitation Program for economic and social recovery in residential environments”, European funds that will be allocated to proceed, for example, to changes of windows in a particular house, digitalization, installation of solar and photovoltaic panels, aerothermia or improvements of green areas.
In addition, Arraiz Nalda recalled that the tax incentives budgeted and financed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda and that, thanks to them, any person who carries out a rehabilitation work in their home, can be deducted a part of their cost in their next income tax return.
In this way, he commented that Minister Isabel Rodríguez García gave a clear example of the usefulness of these tax incentives: the realization of a work of 5,000 euros in a building to improve energy efficiency, fulfilling the requirement of a 7% reduction in heating and cooling consumption, receives an aid of 40%, which corresponds to 2,000 euros. That is, it would pay only 3,000 euros. But, in addition, on those 3,000 euros, you also get a deduction of IRPF of 20%, which would be 600 euros.
In this way, people who carry out energy efficiency improvement works would pay half of what they would have paid without this rehabilitation aid.
On the other hand, the delegate insisted that “the Government of Spain wants to demonstrate its great commitment by strengthening and expanding the offer of the existing housing stock, betting on affordable housing”. Proof of this are the two agreements that were signed last week for the construction of 35 energy-efficient homes for social and affordable rent in Logroño (24) and Haro (11).
Specifically, the Central Executive will contribute 1.5 million of the 5.1 million euros budgeted for the implementation of these projects, from the NextGenerationEU funds within the framework of the PRTR.
To these homes in Haro and Logroño are added the construction of 40 energy-efficient public homes in Alfaro, as well as 8 in Calsalvo and 24 in Torrecilla in Cameros, with a state contribution of 3,432,520 euros
In addition, it was agreed in May last year to promote the public housing stock for social rent or at an affordable price in the municipalities of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Lardero, thanks to the funding of 272,618 euros for the acquisition of 7 homes for social rent by the latter under the State Plan of access to housing 2022-2025. The total budget for this action, including the contribution of the regional administration and the promoter, amounts to 590,674 euros.
That same month, May 2023, two agreements were also signed between the Government of Spain and La Rioja for the rehabilitation of 272 homes in the residential environments of Logroño and Calsalvo. These agreements are part of the PRTR’s Neighborhood Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program. Of the EUR 6.6 million to be used in these projects, the Central Executive contributes EUR 4.8 million.
The agreement with the City of Logroño includes the actions in the residential environment of programmed rehabilitation of Lobet, where the rehabilitation, in a first phase, of 184 homes is planned and the planned contribution of the Government of Spain, in this case, is 2.8 million euros.
Likewise, the agreement with the City of Calsalvo includes the actions in the residential environment of programmed rehabilitation of Sagrada Familia Environment and IES Marco Fabio Quintiliano, where the rehabilitation of 88 homes is planned, in the first phase, and a state contribution for these actions with 2 million euros.
After concretizing all these actions, the delegate stressed that all of them are examples of how housing becomes one of the cornerstones of the political action of the Government of Spain, promoting the rehabilitation of the built park, as well as the increase of the housing park in social rent in energy-efficient buildings, contributing to the activation of this sector and the generation of employment.
“We are increasing the rehabilitation 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 all this, from a commitment to the most vulnerable populations in favor of the availability of accessible and sustainable housing,” he concluded.