Madrid lidera en viviendas públicas en alquiler en España
The Madrid City Council, through the Municipal Housing and Land Company in Madrid (EMVS Madrid), leads the ranking of public housing rentals in Spain, according to the Special Social Housing Bulletin 2024 recently published by the Housing and Land Observatory, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda. Specifically, Madrid has a residential park of 9,082 social housing units for affordable rent.
The study by the Housing and Land Observatory ranks Barcelona City Council in second place, with a park of 8,520 public rental properties. Behind them are Málaga, with 4,311 protected properties for rent; Bilbao, with 4,223 affordable rental homes; Zaragoza, with a park of 2,258 units, and Seville, with 2,144 units.
Madrid has reached the top spot in affordable homes for the first time, surpassing Barcelona. In the previous Ministry Bulletin for 2020, Madrid had 6,304 homes compared to Barcelona’s 8,758. This means that public housing for affordable rental by the municipal property increased by 44% in Madrid, while decreasing by over 2.7% in Barcelona, according to reports from the Ministry of Housing. Madrid has increased its Public Housing Park for affordable rent by 47% since Almeida became mayor. In 2024 alone, the Madrid Municipal Company concluded 1,072 new affordable rentals in a dozen developments.
Madrid leads national investments in housing
On the economic front, the Madrid City Council is the local government that has allocated the largest investment for the construction and maintenance of public housing in recent years. According to the Special Social Housing Bulletin 2024, Madrid invested over €811 million between 2020 and 2023, under the leadership of José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
Barcelona follows in the second position, with a budget of just over €256 million in the same period, meaning Madrid invested 316% more in affordable rentals than Barcelona at that time. Málaga comes next, with an investment exceeding €129 million in the construction and maintenance of public housing.
EMVS Madrid, nearly 6,200 homes in different stages
Additionally, the Madrid City Council, through EMVS, currently has nearly 6,200 homes in various projects and execution stages. Among them, there are 2,200 rental units that have already started serving the community through various public-private collaboration formulas for residential development in Berrocali and Naşii. These figures make EMVS Madrid the leading promoter of public housing in Spain.
These homes are accessible to individuals with incomes up to 3.5 times the IPREM. This means that, for example, a couple with two children can have a maximum gross annual income of around €44,000. However, EMVS Madrid tenants will never allocate more than 30% of their family income to rental payments.
