Xàbia assigns five plots to Valencian government for social housing
It is difficult to access affordable housing in Xàbia due to the real estate market being strongly conditioned by heavy tourism.
Tuesday 20th December 2022 · Mike Smith
Source: Ajuntament de Xàbia
Mayor José Chulvi met with Héctor Illueca, the second vice-president and Minister of Housing and Bioclimatic Architecture at the Generalitat Valenciana, to address one of the most important problems of our time: accessing to housing for young people and those who have few resources.
After months of work and coordination between the Department of Town Planning, directed by councillor Pepa Gisbert, and the regional government’s housing secretariat, Xàbia is able to offer five plots located on Avenida Augusta, Calle Bruselas and Camí del Pou de Moro on which 153 homes for social rental can be built through the Next Generation Aid Programme for the construction of such property.
Related Link: Xàbia makes seven plots of land available for social housing
The mayor explained that, following previous studies on the demand, it has been proposed that the constructions be mostly one and two bedroom homes since the group most in need is that of young people who want to step out from the family home and single-parent families.
He highlighted the difficult in accessing affordable housing in Xàbia since the real estate market is strongly conditioned by heavy tourism, something that has been augmented by the liberalization of tourist rentals. He said that the local town hall has aimed to put all its resources into reversing the shortage of social housing, adding that, behind Valencia and Sagunto, Xàbia has been the third municipality in the Comunidad Valenciana that has offered the most land to the regional government for the second phase of the initiative through which public-private collaborations will build homes allocated for social rent.
Related Link: Xàbia allocates funding to buy social housing
The vice-president explained that the Xàbia proposal would involve an investment of around 26.6 million euros and would mobilize European funds, an investment of relevance not only for the number of social rental homes but also because the plots are located in an area strongly affected by the harmful effects of tourism of housing. He added a guarantee that 40% of these homes would be reserved for young people.
The homes will be build by private companies under the direction of the Generalitat Valenciana which will be subsidizing the construction costs. When completed, the houses will be rented with a maximum established price (from 260 to 500 euros, depending on the size of the property) to family units whose monthly incomes don’t exceed between 2,300 and 2,400 euros.
Related Link: Xàbia will have the right of first refusal for the acquisition of public housing
