The Madrid demonstration for the right to housing last Sunday, October 13, has had an impact at the state level in less than twenty-four hours. Pedro Sánchez has just announced at the World in Progress forum in Barcelona that he is going to start distributing 200 million euros in rental vouchers for young people.
The youth rental voucher is a direct subsidy (i.e., an aid granted directly by the Public Administration) with the aim of alleviating the acute housing crisis, which prevents people between 18 and 40 years of age from becoming independent. Currently, the average age of emancipation is around 30 years old, a figure much higher than that of most European countries.
During the summer of 2024, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda confirmed that those young people with a stable job and a rental contract will still be able to apply for this voucher, which entitles them to receive 250 euros per month to pay rent for a maximum of two years (the total amount to be received by each subsidized person would be 6,000 euros).
The assistance applies only to those who earn less than €24,318.84 per month and pay rents of less than €600 (although there are exceptions). This limits the scope of the bonus, which is increasingly necessary for young workers in different sectors due to hyperinflation and job insecurity.
Pedro Sánchez has also stated for World in Progress that the Government is working on a new regulation “to avoid fraud in tourist and seasonal accommodation contracts”. He explained that he needs “all the competent administrations” and has called a meeting on December 10 to deal with this and other issues related to the housing crisis.
Reactions in social networks
There has been no lack of reactions from the opposition. Julen Bollain, former member of the Basque Parliament, has posted on his X account that “young people do not need a 250€ voucher to pay rent, which goes directly into the pockets of landlords, but decent salaries and rents that do not increase by 41% in just 5 years”.
On the other hand, young people affected by the housing crisis have criticized Pedro Sánchez’s initiative through an X thread created by RTVE in which the president appears announcing the investment in favor of the bonds. “No, we must not put more money in the pockets of rentiers, we must scare away the capital of real estate speculation,” says Professor Antonio Domínguez.