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Why Spain is looking to Vienna to fix its housing crisis

Spain is trailing behind the rest of the EU when it comes to social housing and has one of the lowest proportions of stock, so could replicating the Austrian capital's model be the solution?

Published: 26 April 2024 10:50 CEST
vienna social housing
A statue in front of Karl-Marx-Hof, a community-owned apartment building in Vienna. Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP

According to figures from Spain’s Land and Housing Observatory, in 2020 just 2.5 percent of total constructions in Spain were for social housing, far lower than in countries such as Austria, where it was 24 percent, the Netherlands, with 30 percent, and Denmark at 20.9 percent. 

Spain is one of a small handful of EU countries that have surprisingly low social housing provisions. Spain ranks 18th in the EU overall and is joined at the bottom of the table by countries such as Romania (1.5 percent), Estonia (1.7 percent), Croatia (1.8 percent) and Portugal (2 percent).

Spain’s 2.5 percent figures are also much lower than the wider European average of 9.3 percent. In recent years, Spain has not even managed to complete 10,000 social housing units per year, compared to 60,000 a decade ago.

READ ALSO – EXPLAINED: How Spain plans to address its huge lack of social housing

Furthermore, public housing has become increasingly privatised in recent years, affecting most of the almost 2.5 million subsidised homes built since 1981, when the first plan was approved. In 2012, the construction of social housing plummeted and dropped from 50,000 homes annually to just 9,200 in 2022.

The Viennese model

For decades now, Vienna, the Austrian capital, has increased its stock of price-controlled social housing and has stood out for its housing policy.

Although there is social housing throughout the country, the majority of it is concentrated in the capital city. 

The Vienna City Council has become the biggest homeowner in Europe – around 60 percent of residents live in one of 220,000 properties subsidised by the public sector, and the city invests up to €600 million annually in affordable housing models.

By increasing social housing and limiting rent, the value of housing has also been limited and prices have been regulated. For example, in Vienna, rent is around €9 per m/2, according to the consulting firm Deloitte.

This figure is much lower than that of the rest of the European capitals, compared to London or Paris, for example, where the rental price per m/2 is around €30. In comparison, rent in Barcelona and Madrid is around €17 and €14 m/2 respectively.

The requirements to be able to access social housing in Vienna are also very broad. Basically, you need to be 17 years old or older, be registered Vienna and earn more than €43,000 net annually. Rent can also not represent more than 30 percent of your income.

READ ALSO: Spain needs to build 1.2 million affordable rental homes in a decade

How Spain is planning on replicating the Vienna model

Spain, like many EU countries, has begun to turn towards the Viennese model.

Madrid in particular hopes to increase the real estate stock by 70,000 homes in four years, of which up to 40,000 will be dedicated to social housing according to regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

Like in Vienna, Madrid hopes to balance the real estate market naturally without limiting prices. For example, in Vienna where the private real estate stock has been regulated, 60 square meter homes can vary between €600 and €700 per month. This is almost impossible in Madrid and Barcelona, where a home with the same characteristics can exceed more than €1,000 per month.

The Spanish government recently approved a plan to allocate 50,000 ‘Sareb’ homes to bolster its dwindling social housing stock. La Sociedad de Gestión de Activos Procedentes de la Reestructuración Bancaria or ‘Sareb’ was created eleven years ago to buy real estate assets from banks that went bankrupt during the 2008 financial crisis, and has been state-run since 2022.

Sánchez followed up on this 50,000 pledge by announcing the financing of a further 43,000 homes for social housing paid for with €4 billion of European funds.

“I want to announce that, in addition to the mobilisation of 50,000 Sareb homes, we are going to finance the development of another 43,000 new homes for social rent and rent at affordable prices,” the Prime Minister said.

He also criticised Spain’s “embarrassing” social housing stock compared to Europe, and reinforced his “commitment” to “move forward so that housing is a right and not a problem for the majority of citizens”. 

Having an extensive public housing stock allows prices to be lowered and ensures that there’s sufficient supply.

Christian Schantl, the head of the International Relations department of the public company Wiener Wohnen, the entity that manages public rentals in the city of Vienna, has advised Spain that to do this, they should not sell public housing under any circumstances.

In an interview with El País he said: “You cannot completely copy and paste the system, it would not work. One thing [the Spanish Government] should not do is sell its public housing. This is very important because many cities in Europe have made that mistake and are now facing serious problems. So that’s the first thing: never sell what you have. And then, there are some elements that are important to take into account, such as the financial situation, the necessary land, the legal framework and housing policies,” he continued.

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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