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The Tenure Imbalance in Spain: The Need for Social Housing Policy

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  • Montserrat Pareja Eastaway

    (Department de Teoria Econòmica, Escola d'Empresarials, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda Diagonal, 693 3a planta, 08034 Barcelona, Spain, mpareja@eco.ub.es)

  • Ignacio San Martin Varo

    (Servicio de Estudios, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA),28001 Madrid, Spain, jisanmartin@grupobbva.com)

Abstract

Spain is usually chosen as an example of an unbalanced picture among tenures. The owner-occupied sector has been growing since the 1950s while the rental sector has become smaller. Surprisingly, other European countries are at present following the same pattern, but mostly we also see an important function for social housing. Taking into account that public housing, built by public developers, is almost negligible and that government housing policy programmes basically stimulate ownership, the 'social housing' concept lacks an adequate definition in Spanish housing policy. In this sense, the encouragement of the rental sector through public policy should provide an alternative for low-income families. Despite different cultural housing backgrounds, the emergence of a reliable rental sector in Spain appears to be the most promising strategy for solving current housing problems. The aim of the paper is twofold. On the one hand, it analyses the evolution of the rental sector through recent decades, stressing how different central government regulations have affected the tenure structure in Spain. On the other, it considers the rental sector as a potential instrument for authorities to meet the housing needs of low-income families. Housing policy still plays a crucial role in offering the opportunity for certain groups to access a suitable house. What can be called the 'European shift' to the market can cause irreparable damage to those families that have benefited from former, direct or indirect, public means.

Suggested Citation

  • Montserrat Pareja Eastaway & Ignacio San Martin Varo, 2002. "The Tenure Imbalance in Spain: The Need for Social Housing Policy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(2), pages 283-295, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:39:y:2002:i:2:p:283-295
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980120102975
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Euan Phimister, Esperanza Vera-Toscano and Deborah Roberts, 2015. "The Dynamics of Energy Poverty: Evidence from Spain," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    2. Juan Aranda & Ignacio Zabalza & Andrea Conserva & Gema Millán, 2017. "Analysis of Energy Efficiency Measures and Retrofitting Solutions for Social Housing Buildings in Spain as a Way to Mitigate Energy Poverty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-22, October.
    3. Grazia Napoli & Salvatore Giuffrida & Maria Rosa Trovato, 2019. "Efficiency versus Fairness in the Management of Public Housing Assets in Palermo (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Melissa García-Lamarca, 2017. "From Occupying Plazas to Recuperating Housing: Insurgent Practices in Spain," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 37-53, January.
    5. Jaume Garcia & Josep Maria Raya, 2011. "Price and Income Elasticities of Demand for Housing Characteristics in the City of Barcelona," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(5), pages 597-608.

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