This Tuesday, the deputy secretary of the PP, Juan Bravo Baena, has linked the fall in rental supply -120,000 fewer homes- to the "interventionist" measures of the Executive, on the same day that the Minister of Housing presents her law and takes it to the Council of Ministers. A Law -as Demócrata already reported- endowed with 7,000 million euros, a figure that triples that of the previous program, and whose objective is to reinforce the permanent nature of public housing, and in whose budget the Autonomous Communities are integrated, with a contribution of 40% of the total volume of this budget.
This Tuesday, the Deputy Secretary of Treasury, Housing and Infrastructure of the People's Party, Juan Bravo, has lashed out at the housing policy of Pedro Sánchez's Government, which he accuses of basing its actions on announcements that, in his opinion, do not translate into real results.
“They announce that they are going to build 25,000 homes, 30,000, and even 200,000, but they haven't built any”, states Bravo, who maintains that the Executive's new Housing Plan has not generated expectations among citizens due to the perception of a lack of execution.
Criticism of the lack of results
“The problem is that the Government makes many announcements, but the reality is that those facts translate to 0,” states the popular leader. Along these lines, he contrasts the Executive's approach with that of his party: “The Government announces housing, and we want to build housing, not announce it.”
Bravo also underlines a difference in the regulatory processing: "The Government does not take a Land Law to Parliament and we do, although they have had it paralyzed for a year".
Impact on the rental market
The deputy secretary of the PP denounces that the Government's "interventionism" is having negative effects on the rental market. "There are no more apartments and up to 120,000 have been withdrawn from the rental market. It would seem logical for someone to change their mind," he points out.
According to their defense, this reduction in supply -backed by a report from the Observatorio del Alquiler which Demócrata has accessed, stating that, two years after the Housing Law, rental supply has decreased by 120,000 homes- evidence that current policies are not incentivizing the market, but rather causing its contraction.
Housing deficit and demand pressure
Bravo also warns of the structural imbalance between supply and demand. In this regard, he alerts that the regularization of immigrants promoted by the Government could increase pressure on the market. “The Bank of Spain says that 750,000 homes are now needed and it is estimated that 3 million will be needed by 2039”, he points out.
In his opinion, the problem lies in the lack of construction and administrative hurdles. “The solution is not to invent formulas to continue intervening in the market, but to build, facilitate access, and remove administrative and bureaucratic hurdles,” he claims.
The popular leader also accuses the Executive of incoherence in its approaches. “They defended in their electoral program that squatters would be evicted in 24 hours. It is on page 244 of the electoral program and now they are totally against it. They are the ones who are not finding their place well,” he states.
PP's Proposals in the Face of the Crisis
Faced with this situation, Bravo highlights that the Popular Party continues working on measures both from the national leadership and from the autonomous communities. “People see the difference between the PP's actions and the Government's announcements,” he assures.
Among the initiatives, it lists “reducing obstacles, facilitating construction, facilitating access, and lowering the property transfer tax for the first acquisition, something the Government refuses to do with VAT”.
Criticism of the CIS and political assessment
In another area, and regarding the latest CIS poll, according to which the PSOE soars with a thirteen-point lead over the PP, Bravo laments the loss of credibility of the Sociological Research Center (CIS), attributing it to a “partisan use” by the Government: “Unfortunately, Spaniards trust this institution less and less”.
Likewise, Bravo Baena has celebrated the government pact in Extremadura that will allow María Guardiola to revalidate the presidency after obtaining 43% of the votes. As he highlights, the agreement includes measures such as tax cuts, reduction of obstacles, boost to housing, support for farmers and ranchers, and aid from 0 to 3 years for childbirth, "that is to say, what society is asking for".