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In the Community of Madrid, there is currently no “affordable rent law” as such in a decisive phase of parliamentary processing. The core regulation that allows the generation of rental housing at an affordable price is already approved and in force, and the main new initiative linked to this objective is in an initial parliamentary phase, still in committee, with an open amendment period.

1. Which regulation currently supports affordable rent in Madrid

The regulation most directly linked to affordable rent is the Law on urban measures for the promotion of protected housing, approved by the Assembly of Madrid in 2024. This law originated from the project that the Government Council sent to the Chamber in June 2024 to:

• Authorize the change of use from tertiary land (offices) to residential to implement publicly protected housing under rental regime, without the need to modify urban planning, processing it through municipal licensing.
• Simplify procedures and reduce deadlines to enable land and build protected housing intended for affordable rent.

The regional government described the progress of this regulation in two milestones:

• Approval of the bill by the Government Council and submission to the Assembly for validation (note from 6/5/2024).
• Subsequent ratification by the Assembly, so that the Community of Madrid “can now convert offices into affordable rental apartments” and the law comes into force, pending only its publication in the Official Bulletin of the Community of Madrid (note from 6/20/2024).

That law has also been subject to a extension of its validity and expansion of its scope in 2025, to extend for two more years the possibility of converting offices, hotels, and certain designated plots into affordable rental housing (note from 11/10/2025). This extension is already approved, so from a parliamentary point of view, we are talking about a fully effective regulation, not under processing.

2. Main recent parliamentary initiatives and their status

Alongside that already approved regulation, the Assembly of Madrid has processed and continues to process various initiatives related to protected housing and affordable rent, with different results:

• Bill PL‑4/2026, urgent measures to increase the supply of publicly protected housing, presented by the regional government (Popular Group). This initiative:
  • Modifies the Law 3/2024 on urban measures for the promotion of protected housing, expanding the change of use regime and the possibility of allocating land to protected rental housing.
  • Introduces changes in Law 9/2001, on Land of the Community of Madrid, and other sectoral regulations, aiming to facilitate more buildability and density on plots intended for publicly protected housing.
  • According to the Assembly Bulletin (publication from 4/27/2026 and most recent reference), it is in committee phase with the amendment submission period open. That is, the Plenary has already admitted the project, it is under processing, and groups can submit amendments to the articles, but no committee report has been prepared yet nor has it returned to the Plenary for final approval.
• Opposition bills:
  • PROP.L‑9/2025 (PSOE) on permanent public protection of land and publicly protected housing: registered and published, but as of the last consulted record, it remains in initial processing, without advanced parliamentary milestones.
  • PROP.L‑13/2024 (Más Madrid) legislative initiative before Congress to modify the national Urban Leases Law: its consideration was rejected by the Plenary on 2/20/2025, so the path was closed.
• Several non-legislative motions (PNL) on social housing stock and affordable rent (for example, PNL‑280/2025 from PSOE or PNL‑244/2024 from Vox) have been debated and rejected in Plenary, without direct normative effects.

3. Summary: in which phase is the “affordable rent regulation”

If by “affordable rent regulation” we refer to the framework that allows generating protected rental housing at a price below market, the situation in the Community of Madrid is as follows:

• The basic rule is already approved and in force (Law on urban measures for the promotion of protected housing of 2024 and its extension and expansion of 2025), so it is no longer in a parliamentary processing phase but in executive application.
• The most immediate legislative development and reinforcement, Bill PL‑4/2026 to increase the supply of publicly protected housing, is in an intermediate parliamentary phase: admitted and published, currently in committee with an open amendment period and still pending report and final Plenary vote.
• Other more ambitious proposals on protected housing or on the rental market itself have been rejected or remain in very initial phases, not constituting today the “central regulation” of affordable rent in the region.

In summary, the key regulation that allows creating affordable rental housing in the Community of Madrid is already approved, while the Assembly is now processing a complementary bill (PL‑4/2026) in committee and amendment phase, which has not yet reached the final Plenary vote.

The Municipal Housing and Land Company of Madrid (EMVS Madrid) is a wholly municipal commercial company that acts as the main instrument of the Madrid City Council to execute its housing policy. Although its statutes are not literally reproduced in the consulted sources, its powers and functions are clearly deduced from the general legal framework of local commercial companies and, above all, from the activity that the City Council itself attributes to it in recent official notes.

1. Promotion and construction of public housing for affordable rent

The core function of EMVS is the promotion and construction of public housing intended for affordable rent. The City Council emphasizes that EMVS Madrid is “the public company that builds the most affordable rental housing in Europe” and that it has completed and promoted dozens of public housing developments, reaching a stock of around 10,000 homes for affordable rent managed by the municipal company, according to the note from 01/14/2026 about its activity in recent years (link).

Within this framework, typical functions are:

• Drafting, tendering, and execution of projects for new public housing developments on municipally owned land or land ceded to it (for example, developments in Latina, Mahou-Calderón, Los Ahijones, or the Los Olivos Colony).
• Comprehensive management of developments until delivery, including contracting works, technical direction, quality control, and commissioning of buildings.

2. Management of the public housing stock and tenant relations

EMVS exercises the management of the public housing stock on behalf of the City Council:

• Administration of rental contracts, collection of rents, and application of the general rule that no tenant pays more than 30 % of their available family income as rent, according to the municipal policy described in January 2026.
• Direct management of tenant relations through specific channels such as the Tenant Portal, which allows consultation of direct debits, receipts, and other online procedures (link).
• Conservation and maintenance of buildings, including innovation projects such as the R&D&i program to manage maintenance through artificial intelligence (link).

3. Acquisition of homes and land management

EMVS’s powers extend to the acquisition of homes and land management to expand the public stock:

• Purchase of homes on the secondary market from private individuals, at market conditions, for incorporation as public rental housing, as reflected in the municipal campaign “Are you selling your home? The Madrid City Council buys it” (link).
• Assumption of rehabilitation costs of those homes up to certain economic limits, advancing the works to make them habitable.
• Participation in the management and development of municipal land for residential use, both with own developments and through public-private collaboration formulas supervised by the company itself (for example, surface rights concessions or plot transfers).

4. Specific programs for housing mobilization and affordable rent

Municipal regulations and recent practice show that EMVS also has functions of design and management of specific housing programs:

• Management of programs such as Plan Reviva, whereby owners of empty homes grant their usufruct to EMVS for a determined time, receiving an agreed rent while the municipal company rents those apartments at affordable prices (referred to in Demócrata’s political analysis on public rent in Madrid).
• Implementation of new affordable rent programs for middle incomes, expanding access to public housing to groups that, without being the most vulnerable, face difficulties accessing the free market (link).

5. Rehabilitation, energy efficiency, and advice

Another relevant line of functions relates to rehabilitation of the residential stock and energy efficiency:

• Promotion and management of energy rehabilitation actions in buildings, both own and in collaboration with other entities, through agreements to strengthen municipal services such as the Green Office (link).
• Participation in the organization and management of housing advice services to citizens (for example, the Housing Advice Service, SAV), in coordination with the competent municipal area (link).

6. Operational instrument of the municipal housing policy

Finally, EMVS acts as the “executive arm” of the Madrid City Council in housing matters. The council transfers very significant budgetary resources to finance construction, rehabilitation, and management of the public stock, and uses it as a vehicle to channel investments and programs linked to European funds and municipal strategic housing planning.

In summary, according to local regulations governing municipal commercial companies and the practice recorded in recent official documentation, EMVS’s powers range from the promotion and direct management of public housing for affordable rent and administration of municipal land, to energy rehabilitation, purchase of homes in the private market, and implementation of specific housing mobilization programs, always serving the housing policy of the Madrid City Council.

Plan ReViVa is a program of the Madrid City Council managed by the Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS Madrid), not of the Community of Madrid. Its objective is to mobilize empty homes towards affordable rent through the temporary transfer of their usufruct. Based on official information from the City Council, the main legal requirements and commitments for owners who want to incorporate a home into the program can be summarized as follows.

Transfer the home’s usufruct to EMVS Madrid

The central legal requirement is that the owner transfers the usufruct of the home to EMVS Madrid for a determined period:

• The transfer is made for a minimum of five years and up to a maximum of ten, according to official notes from the Madrid City Council.
• A usufruct transfer contract is signed with EMVS Madrid and, according to EMVS itself, the expenses associated with that transfer (such as capital gains tax and registration in the Property Registry) are borne by the municipal company.
• Throughout the transfer period, the owner retains full ownership of the home: they do not sell the property but grant EMVS the right of use and exploitation in rental.

From a legal point of view, this formula is based on the usufruct figure contained in the Civil Code, but with a specific contract detailing the obligations of both parties.

Number of homes and basic characteristics

The program’s regulations also set limits on how many homes each owner can contribute:

• In general terms, the program limits to five the number of homes that the same interested party can incorporate into ReViVa.
• This limit of five does not apply when it comes to tourist-use homes that the owner decides to convert to affordable residential rent, as specified by the City Council.

Additionally, although press releases do not develop all technical details, it is inferred that:

• The home must be located within the municipal area of Madrid, as it is a program of EMVS Madrid.
• It must be suitable for habitual residential use and be capable of meeting adequate habitability conditions, either in its current state or after a reform financed through the program itself.

Economic and management commitments

By transferring the usufruct, the owner acquires a series of rights but also accepts a certain legal and economic framework:

• EMVS Madrid guarantees the payment of the agreed rent, whether or not the home is rented. That is, the owner receives the agreed monthly payment regardless of actual occupancy.
• The municipal company assumes usual expenses of the property: homeowners’ association fees, home insurance, ordinary repairs, and Property Tax (IBI), as detailed in the press release of 2/23/2024.
• If the apartment needs works, EMVS advances up to 45,000 euros at 0% interest, also covering the VAT of the works. This advance is deducted from the rent the owner receives monthly, according to the duration of the usufruct contract.

Legally, this implies that the owner agrees that part of the rent is allocated to amortize the rehabilitation investment, under the conditions set in the program contract.

Relationship with the lease and protection against defaults

Within the legal framework of ReViVa, EMVS Madrid acts as intermediary and rental manager:

• The municipal company signs and manages the lease contracts with tenants, applying urban lease regulations and the affordable rent criteria set by the City Council.
• Tenant selection is carried out according to income and vulnerability criteria defined by the program (for example, tenants cannot allocate more than 30% of their salary to rent), clearly situating the use within the scope of habitual residential rent.
• For the owner, this translates into enhanced protection against defaults or other conflicts, since their main relationship is with EMVS Madrid, which assumes the risk of occupancy and delinquency.

Practical recommendation

The available official information comes from press releases and divulgative fact sheets of the Madrid City Council, so the fine details (contract models, technical requirements of the home, specific registry or tax documentation) may be updated or nuanced in each call. It is advisable to:

• Consult directly with EMVS Madrid or with the Housing Advice Service, which since July 2026 includes specific information about ReViVa.
• Review updated information on the municipal website, for example in press releases about the program available at madrid.es.
• In case of doubt about specific fiscal or registry implications, seek professional advice (lawyer or tax advisor) before signing the usufruct transfer.

With all this, the legal framework of ReViVa offers owners a temporary transfer formula with high legal and economic security, in exchange for committing the home for a multi-year period to affordable rent managed by the municipal administration.