The legislative response to political and social outcry against evictions, increasing by the recent suicide of Amaya Egaña in Barakaldo (Vizcaya)
The Cabinet approved yesterday a law- decree so no one will have to leave home.
Government is negotiating with Banks on the creation of a housing fund so evicted people can have cheap rental accommodation.
The entire financial system will work “to create this housing stock”. This means that homes will be come from both nationalized banks as healthy ones. Overall, Spanish banks accumulate at least 100,000 available homes, and many of them are being offered at discounts of up to 70%.
The decree is an starting- point for a negotiation process in order to establish number of homes and rental fees.
Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) said, meanwhile, that they will “bring expertise in this area." Savings Banks in Spain has programmes against social and financial exclusion, which include social rental programmes.
Some agencies already have in place affordable housing programs through its Social Programms. The most important example is La Caixa, which has a fleet of 3,000 own housing for supportive housing program, which targets families with incomes no greater than 2.5 times the minimum wage. Recently, Banco Sabadell also donated three houses to Caritas for this Institution of the Church to assist needy families in Alicante.
Furthermore, the Executive clarified conditions to benefit from a two-year moratorium for "evictions".
Thus, entities shall not evict those families with annual incomes below 19,200 euros (about 1,600 euros per month). Other households protected are those where mortgage burden is multiplied by at least 1.5% in the last four years, or where the debt exceeds 50% of net income.
Together with these economic conditions, assisted homes will have to count with one of the following conditions:
- *Large family (i.e., three or more children)
*Single parent with two dependent children
- *A family member has a disability greater than 33% or a disability that implies dependency.
- * Unemployed who have exhausted the unemployment aid.
- * Members who have suffered gender violence.
- * Households supporting disabled extended members of the family: children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, uncles and nephews.
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"Rota (Cadiz) 04 plaza", Rota, Cadiz, Southern Spain, by ferlomu, at flickr.com