Spain to build or renovate 43,000 social and affordable housing units using European funds

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced on Wednesday that Spain will finance the construction or renovation of 43,000 new homes for rent at affordable prices.

The housing units will be financed by a new line of European funding worth €4 billion. These 43,000 units will be added to the 50,000 already destined for social housing from another government institution, so that the number of social housing that will be made available to citizens totals around 93,000.

According to Sánchez, the new units will be energy efficient and will be available as social housing or affordable housing for up to 50 years, in an effort to make access to housing the "fifth pillar of the welfare state."

Sánchez announced the measure during a speech in Congress where he remembered that housing access is one of the biggest inequalities, as Spain is the fourth country in the European Union where citizens have to spend more to buy a home.

"The situation of higher prices seen in the last few years has made access to a house an inaccessible right for a lot of people, especially younger generations," Pedro Sánchez said.

"With the additional 43,000 social housing units, we are going to comply with Article 47 of the Constitution and make access to housing a right and not a problem like it is today for most citizens," he added.

"Spain has a very serious problem with housing, as we are the third country in the EU with the highest number of empty flats, and we only have 3% of public housing opportunities," the Spanish PM said.

Despite Sánchez's announcement, local politicians in Barcelona have expressed skepticism.