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Mitma, the Community of Madrid and the municipalities of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Las Rozas sign two agreements for the economic and social recovery of three residential environments in both municipalities

09/02/2023
Mitma, the Community of Madrid and the municipalities of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Las Rozas sign two agreements for the economic and social recovery of three residential environments in both municipalities

Recovery, Transition and Resilience Plan

  • The project totals 13.4 million euros, of which Mitma will contribute 8.3 million from PRTR funds.
  • This initiative is part of the actions for the economic and social rehabilitation of Barrios and will affect a total of 445 homes in the municipalities of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Las Rozas de Madrid.
  • Raquel Sánchez has stressed the need to have a “Housing Law called to help enshrine the right to housing, protect existing public housing, increase the supply of flats for rent at reduced prices and control rents in the most stressed areas”.

The Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, the Secretary General of Urban Agenda and Housing, David Lucas, the Director General of Housing and Rehabilitation of the Community of Madrid, María José Piccio-Marchetti Prado, the Mayor of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Carlota López Esteban, and the Councilor for Family, Social Services and Central District of Las Rozas de Madrid, José Luis San Higinio Gómez, have today signed two collaboration agreements to put both municipalities in motion. The event was also attended by the Director-General of Housing and Land of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Francisco Javier Martín Ramiro.

Thanks to these agreements, the rehabilitation of three residential environments will be launched that will affect about 445 homes in the cities of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Las Rozas de Madrid. These initiatives comprise a total budget of 13,489,148.34 euros, of which Mitma will contribute 8,305,029.29 euros. This project, aimed at addressing the economic and social recovery of urban areas, is part of the Neighborhood Rehabilitation Program included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

In his speech, Raquel Sánchez recalled the importance of expanding the public housing stock and improving habitability and sustainability of the existing one in order to contribute to guaranteeing the constitutional right to housing. “For too long he has looked the other way. It has avoided focusing on housing under the prism of human rights. And that has caused the concept of housing as a right to be replaced by that of housing as a speculative good,” he said.

In this regard, it has taken the opportunity to highlight the need to have a Housing Law called to help enshrine the right to housing, protect existing public housing, increase the supply of flats for rent at reduced prices and control incomes in the most stressed areas. All this within a State Housing Plan that was born with the intention of attending to the most urgent needs and that “includes aid for habitual rent to citizens with scarce resources, to victims of gender violence, to people affected by evictions; to homeless people; to others especially vulnerable; and, of course, to young people,” he said.

Concrete actions

Under the two agreements signed this morning, the following projects are expected to be launched, which will be managed and co-financed by the Community of Madrid.

1. In the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial:

· Performances in the planned residential rehabilitation environment of “San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Phase I”, where the rehabilitation of an estimated number of 180 houses, all privately owned, is planned. In this case, the expected contribution from Mitma is 2,696,520.75 euros.

2. In the municipality of Las Rozas de Madrid:

· Performances in the planned residential rehabilitation environment of “Barrio de La Suiza. Phase I”, where the rehabilitation of an estimated number of 241 houses is planned, all privately owned, with a contribution of 4,870,268.54 euros by Mitma.

· Performances in the planned residential rehabilitation environment of “Colonia Las Vírgenes. Phase I”, where the rehabilitation of an estimated number of 24 houses, all privately owned, is planned. Mitma’s investment is 738,240.00 euros.

In the words of the minister, “the absence of a decent housing policy has led us here and has led to much of the effects that we now suffer. I am talking about abusive price rises, tensions in certain areas of big cities and intense speculation that has driven the less wealthy classes out of the market.” To put an end to this situation, the Government has established as a starting point in its action plan that access to housing is not subject to family income or disproportionately subtracted resources. “Our commitment has been to ensure the social function of housing, or in other words, to configure it as a public service of general interest.”