action to convert empty housing into social housing stock
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given by Maria-José Aldanas during the "Accessing housing supply to end homelessness" seminar at the FEANTSA 2014 Policy Conference, "Confronting homelessness in the EU: Seeking out the next generation of best practices", 24-25 October 2014, Bergamo (Italy)TRANSCRIPT
María J. Aldanas Project Officer, FEANTSA
Actions to convert empty housing into
social housing stock
Spanish context
HOUSING THE HOMELESS • Social Housing should be main long-term solution (less than 2%) • Socializing the Private rental sector: Rental Mediation Schemes
EMPTY HOUSING • 3.4 million empty homes (INE Census 2011) • 10.8% increase in a decade
REPOSSESSIONS/ EVICTIONS • Around 500,000 (CGPJ and INE Sep 2014) since 2007. • Second quarter of 2014: 21,178 foreclosures
Housing Policies and Housing Rights
• State Housing plans. Housing policies mainly regional policy: 17 regional governments. • Policies don’t target those unable to obtain housing on the private market • Art.47. Constitution: right to housing, Art 33. Social function
Spain
• Right to Housing Act (Law 18/ 2007). Policies to bring empty housing into the market (Art. 42)
• Municipalities: Fines to the banks holding unused housing
• Regional Government Bill on empty dwelling.
Catalonia
• Law that regulates the right to housing in Andalusia (Law 1/ 2010)
• Law social function of housing: fines to financial institutions, temporal expropriation of repossessed housing
• Interruption of application while decision at Constitutional Court
Andalusia
Legal Responses to Repossessions
Code of Good Practice for banks (2012)
Alternatives to eviction: debt rescheduling and remission and
‘Assets received in lieu of payment/payment in kind (dación
en pago)’
Voluntary for banks, limited access for mortgage debtors
Protection of Mortgage Debtors and Restructuring of
Mortgage Debt and Social Rental Act” (2013)
Measures to alleviate the problem for families (limited
access)
Reforms of the mortgage procedure
Social Housing Fund: 6000 dwellings offered by the banks
to mortgage debtors whose properties were repossessed.
Informal Strategies: Social Movements
• Demand affordable rental housing
• Negotiate with institutions
Repossessions
• Banks
• SAREB
Empty Housing
•“recuperation” of housing stock
•public aid in favor of financial institutions
Occupying the
buildings
Anti-Eviction Platform
Occupation of housing belonging to financial institutions
Livable conditions
Negotiate and present economic arguments
Offer people a standard lease (rent according to economic situation).
Occupied building in Salt, Girona
The European Court of Human Rights delayed the eviction of the block of flats; the Government had to gather information about the social situation of the families (children).
Empty Housing in Catalonia
Right to Housing Act (2007)
• Right to housing Act included the possibility to fine banks that have empty housing in Catalonia
Municipalities Sanctions to the banks: Terrassa and others
‘Moción municipal’ Anti-eviction platform
Regional Government Bill: fines to companies with unused housing for more that 2 years
. Government agreements with the banks
. SAREB agreement to transfer 600 units of their stock to the regional government
. Mobilization of social platforms
Empty Housing in Andalusia
Government of Andalusia
passed a decree (then validated as
a law)
Force banks and
developers to rent out their
stock:
Threat of fines of up to
9000 €
Temporary expropriation
of homes being
repossessed to be let to families at
risk
Suspension of the
application of this piece of legislation
deemed anti-constitutional by the central government
Community Housing
Usually homes are basically bought or rented by a single
individual or household. However, the notion of community
in the area of housing is coming back.
Some types of Alternative housing:
Cooperatives ‘transfer of the right to use’
Housing in exchange for rehabilitation “masoveria”
Community land trusts. CLT Brussels
Solidarity housing. Intergenerational Housing (older people
sharing with young or other people in need).
Other?