The Housing program that the Popular Party and Vox have signed to reach a Government agreement in Extremadura —which will probably materialize next week, given that María Guardiola will be invested president of this region— has made it into the top ten of media and political headlines, in a period marked by the negotiations of the executives of Aragon and Extremadura and by the future elections of May 17 in Andalusia.
The coining of "National priority", perhaps emulating Donald Trump's slogan "America First", has served to fuel a controversy that is on the street, due to a possible racist reading attributed to it from certain circles.
In this regard, Vox sources consulted by Demócrata try to downplay the matter and reveal the keys, without tricks or deception, stating that "the approach is to prioritize, not discard. That is why -they clarify- those with more scoring points will be prioritized to settle the population in Extremadura. But we are not going to discriminate against anyone, we are not going to leave anyone behind. However -they clarify- family, educational, and professional ties, or a minimum of 10 years of registration, will be taken into account in that scoring, as already happens in Madrid with the last regulatory review that was done last year," they note.
In this way, a boy from Morocco or Colombia - they give as an example -, who has been living for ten years with his family in Extremadura, who has studied in the area where he lives and who has also developed professionally there, of course has the same rights as any Spaniard, our sources add.
On the other hand - they argue - it does not seem acceptable that it is criticized that, to offer housing aid, Spaniards who have roots in Extremadura, where they also pay taxes, are prioritized, and then it is not condemned that, to be a municipal guard in a town in Catalonia, they ask you for the C2 of Catalan. "Isn't that discrimination?", they point out.
An agreement only on common points
The Housing program agreed upon by PP and Vox -they assure this outlet- is the result of an agreement that has brought together only the common points, dispensing with matters in this area where it was impossible to reach a pact.
For these two political formations, once the diagnosis has been made, which confirms that the main housing problem in Spain, and in Extremadura, is the lack of supply, the next regulatory step will be the reform of the Law 11/2018, on Territorial and Urban Planning of Extremadura (LOTUS).
The objective is to promote a more flexible, agile, and competitive legal framework that facilitates the urban and economic development of Extremadura and consolidates population in the territory and favors access to housing. For this change, the future Extremaduran executive is considering a horizon before the end of 2027.
Thus, the keystone of the reform involves the expansion of the offer, the review and reduction of urban and fiscal burdens, the removal of administrative obstacles for the installation of industrial activities, the application of the responsible declaration as a general procedure instead of a license and the liberalization of unprotected land and the streamlining of urban transformation.
The fight against fraud in registrations
In this housing sector, the fight against housing squatting and fraudulent registrations is of particular relevance, an issue to which Doctor of Law Elena Ramallo, an expert, moreover, in issues of violence against women and minors, has contributed.
The programmatic intention is to demand from the Government of Spain, always adhering to current legality, the modification of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of Local Regimes, in order to prevent the fraudulent use of the municipal register.
The purpose is to promote that the registration in the census of persons who lack a qualifying title for occupation of the dwelling -or equivalent documentation- be considered null and void by full right, without it being able to constitute proof of residence or generate access to rights or benefits.
A program in the hands of the PP
Furthermore —adds the housing program, which will be managed by a council of the Popular Party—, this budgetary item also contemplates the creation of an Administrative Unit for the Verification of Benefit Fraud and Registration and Effective Residence, according to which the creation of the Extremaduran Unit for the Verification of Benefit Fraud and Registration and Effective Residence will proceed as a key instrument to combat the fraudulent use of registration and undue access to public aid, protected housing, and social benefits.
Among its main functions will be the detection of fictitious registrations, the verification of effective residence, coordination with city councils and the activation of inspection actions when there are indications of fraud.
Detecting "patera" apartments vs incentives
The coordination and cooperation unit will play an active role in the identification and dismantling of organized networks and mafias that operate through the overcrowding of homes and the so-called "patera flats".
It is about helping -Vox sources explain to Demócrata-, especially those small town halls that find it more difficult to verify fraud, due to lack of resources, as an increase in social spending and aid for people who do not even live in that locality is being detected.
The housing program of PP and Vox also includes the construction of 3,500 social housing units through public-private partnership in four years; the reduction of the tax on documented legal acts; the decrease in ITP rates or a new line of public guarantees for families, through AVANTE, with which to cover the total cost of financing the payment of the tax for 10 years for housing with a maximum price of 200,000 euros, acquired by a large family or single-parent family, under 36 years of age and people with disabilities; and, on the other hand, the 100% bonus on commissions and accrued interest.
In parallel, the promotion and support of a bill in the General Courts is agreed upon with the aim of modifying the legal regime of deferral and installment payments applicable to the Property Transfer Tax, in order to enable the installment payment of the amount for the acquisition of housing intended for habitual residence for up to 10 years.
The phenomenon of fraud in the media
At the beginning of April this year, El Diario Vasco echoed the work carried out by the Municipal Guard of San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa), reporting the annulment of up to 1,500 registration fraud cases.
It is not the only media outlet that has echoed news like this. In November 2025, the newspaper El País reported on the illegal black market detected in Madrid for registering foreigners in homes or premises for up to 300 euros.
In January 2025, it was El Mundo who denounced registration frauds in homes in Tres Cantos with up to 70 people registered. Years earlier, in December 2021, the National Police published on its website the detection of a network of illegal registrations of foreigners carried out by the same person in Gandía, who registered foreigners in irregular situations in his homes, for a payment of about 600 euros, to facilitate their obtaining residence permits, although these people did not actually live there.
The voice of the experts
Julián Salcedo, president of the Forum of Real Estate Economists, observes for Demócrata that "the reform of the municipal register will require a state law to combat illegal occupation when there is no title, lease agreement, or transfer of use to occupy the dwelling, which will mean declaring the registration in the register null and void by full right."
In the opinion of Severino Fernández Cascudo, president of the Asociación de Arrendadores de Viviendas de Galicia (ASVAL) and an expert in affordable housing in protected rental and a tax advisor, "the critical part of this program is what they do with the private offer... because if they start investing in public housing... in the end it will come to nothing and the management and allocation of those homes will be a horror." In any case - he adds -, "it is a line of work, it is not a definitive plan and here politicians, as is known, manage their messages very well."