The Government of the Generalitat has prepared the Sectoral Territorial Housing Plan (PTSH) to be the roadmap that must inspire housing policies launched in the next 20 years in Catalonia in this area, with the aim of guaranteeing the right to housing for new generations of young people and new households created during these years. It is a strategic document that points out major objectives and the most appropriate measures for territories and needs detected at all times.
The main objective of the plan is to respond to the needs of some type of public support for new households generated during the next 20 years, to expand up to 15% the homes destined for social policies in municipalities included in areas of strong and accredited demand and, finally, the expansion of the social rental stock up to 7% of main homes, equating to the European average. The achievement of these three major objectives will provide the necessary instruments to form the basis of structural housing policies.
Excluded demand
The lines of action foreseen in the Plan have been prepared based on statistical studies and demographic forecasts according to which 901,000 new households will be formed in Catalonia in the next 15 years. Thus, the Plan foresees that administrations can promote public housing policies to support some 355,000 of these new households, either through the public social rental stock, promoting other housing tenure systems or increasing social aid related to housing, to reach twice as many families as are currently reached.
In this sense, the plan approved by the Generalitat foresees that administrations will promote, to meet the excluded demand during the period 2022-2037, actions to expand the social rental housing stock, either by building new public housing, acquiring or mobilizing the existing stock towards social rental (with the forecast of increasing the public stock by more than 182,000 homes with all these actions). Secondly, the administration will have to promote the construction of officially protected housing for sale and intermediate tenures (thus covering more than 110,000 homes). Finally, the Government also plans to expand and create new rental payment aids.
Expansion of the housing stock for social policies in municipalities with more population and territorial relevance
The second line focuses on ensuring that 15% of the main housing stock is allocated to social policies (the so-called urban solidarity objective) in the 163 municipalities included in areas of strong accredited demand, where more than 82% of the population of Catalonia lives and where most new homes will be created. This figure will be achieved through social rent, purchase and sale, or housing rent payment aid.
Expansion of the social rental stock
Beyond achieving the urban solidarity objective, with the application of the measures proposed by the Sectoral Territorial Housing Plan throughout the territory, the social rental stock must be expanded to 7% of homes in Catalonia as a whole. This figure would place Catalonia above the averages of Southern Europe.
Territorialization of actions
To facilitate administrations reaching social housing stock percentages, various territories and action zones have been defined.
Thus, the PTSH foresees measures for 55 priority municipalities, where 6.4% of the population of Catalonia lives and where it will also be necessary to promote measures to facilitate access and payment for housing during these years, since these are municipalities where the economic effort to access housing exceeds 30% of family income. Likewise, the specificity of the rural world is recognized with the delimitation of 612 municipalities for which the drafting of a specific housing plan is foreseen.
Given the complexity and transversality of the housing problem, the territorial plan outlines other specific plans for the elderly, for women and children, to address homelessness, to promote rental housing and rehabilitation.