The situation to find a flat is especially difficult in the Valencian Community
The Generalitat has approved a decree law that provides for the temporary expropriation of the apartments of large owners
Portugal also announced similar measures with forced expropriations
The difficulty for find housing accessible in spain It is leading some regional governments to take action. On the one hand, in the Basque Country there will be aid for young people -for two years- to be able to become emancipated.
The Valencian government, following the example of Portugal, has approved a decree-law that provides for expropriate temporarily the large owner apartments that remain empty for more than a year.
The measures of the Generalitat Valenciana
The situation to find a flat is especially difficult in the Valencian Community, because it is the community in which the rent increased the most in the last year: 16%. On average, a 100-meter flat does not go below a thousand euros, according to the fotocasa portal.
To remedy these difficulties, the Valencian community approved several urgent measures yesterday. It will create a registry of large holders, that have 10 floors or more. When one of those floors is empty for more than a year, it will be possible to temporarily expropriate and put it for at least five years for rent.
There are precedents for this measure: the Balearic Islands approved five years ago a very similar law. In this time they have expropriated temporarily 16 houses of great owners. This threat has also caused the stock of empty houses to fall by 30%.
In it Basque Country he number of vacant homes it has decreased by 25 percent in two years, thanks to a law that also contemplates forced expropriations and taxes on empty houses.
Portugal also announced similar measures: forced expropriation of empty flats and prohibition of new tourist flats. In Lisbon the situation is especially worrying: rents shot up only last year by 37%
