This Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved a new call for the youth rental voucher, which provides aid of 250 euros for the payment of rent to young people who meet certain conditions of age, income or rented housing.
It would be the third year that the measure has been applied, so in total 600 million euros have been allocated, at a rate of 200 million annually, to this policy. The aid seeks to facilitate emancipation and access to a home or room for rent, according to the Executive. These are its main keys.
How much is the help?
The program includes up to 250 euros per month per recipient. In this sense, there are no variations on the quantities of previous editions.
How long does the help last?
Recipients receive aid for a period of 2 years. In total, a maximum of 6,000 euros will be received, if 250 euros are received over 24 months.
Are there age limits?
Yes, it is granted to people over 18 years of age and under 35 years of age. They must be people with a regular source of income.
Are there rent limits?
Yes. To access the call in general, you cannot exceed the income limit of 3 times the IPREM, which in 2024 is 7,200 euros in 12 payments. Thus, the income limit would be 21,600 euros per year. Above that amount, you cannot qualify for the bonus.
There may be variations in the calls of the autonomies, which contemplate higher income figures.
Are there limits on the rental price?
Yes. The amount of rent is limited and you must already be residing in the home when requesting aid. It must be the habitual and permanent residence.
The rental price must be a maximum of 600 euros per month, which rises to 900 euros in certain areas, which are more expensive. In the case of rooms, you have to pay up to 300 euros, which reaches 450 euros in certain areas.
The home cannot be rented to someone with a first or second degree relationship.
What happens if you share a flat?
The bonus includes the possibility of providing aid for shared apartments, in the case of room rentals. Two people from the same home can receive it.
The Ministry of Housing has a frequently asked questions section that resolves the main doubts on housing assumptions.
How long does it take for help to arrive?
Generally, a processing and payment period of six months is contemplated. “We have detected things that we have to improve. The processing must be improved, it has been uneven,” said Isabel Rodríguez, Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, when presenting the measure.
Based on the first two editions, in some autonomies the aid has taken three months to process while in others it has taken a year. In his latest report, the Ombudsman pointed to Andalusia, Galicia, Madrid and Murcia. The minister has asked to make efforts to reduce both the processing time and the time that elapses from approval to admission.
Residential buildings in Barcelona
Can it be combined with other aids?
Yes. It is compatible with other housing aid for vulnerable beneficiaries provided by the autonomous communities, as well as with non-contributory Social Security benefits and the minimum vital income. In any case, the set of aid cannot exceed 100% of the monthly rental payment.
The youth rental bonus can also be made compatible with the youth aid program of the State Plan for Access to Housing 2022-2025. Here the joint limit is 75% of the rental income.
What is the budget in each autonomy?
The 200 million euros are distributed among the different autonomies, with some with more margin than others. The one that will receive the most is Andalusia, with 34.2 million euros. Madrid (31.8 million), Catalonia (29 million) and the Valencian Community (22.8 million) follow.
At a lower level are 11.4 million in Galicia, 10.8 million in Castilla y León or 10.6 million in the Canary Islands.
Below 10 million euros are Murcia (8.8 million), Castilla-La Mancha (8 million), Aragón (7.6 million), Asturias (6.6 million), Extremadura (6 million).
With more modest amounts are the Balearic Islands (4.8 million), Cantabria (3.8 million), La Rioja (3.4 million) and Ceuta and Melilla, with 200,000 euros each.
The Basque Country and Navarra do not enter due to their own tax regime.
The minister of the sector has asked the autonomies to do their part to increase the amounts with their own programs. He has given Catalonia or the Valencian Community as an example, which already have them in place, to which Asturias would now join.
Is it enough?
The Spanish Youth Council has been critical of the measure. “At the state level, this aid has only been granted to 0.6% of people between 18 and 35 years old, for whom this measure was directed,” he stated based on data from previous editions and public records. Likewise, with the increase in rents and the caps applied, “it is increasingly difficult to find apartments or rooms that adapt to the requirements to access the bonus,” it is noted. The Council recommends broader measures, such as regulating the price, taxing real estate investment to avoid speculation, stopping tourist rentals and penalizing empty homes. Additionally, build public housing for social rental.
In a similar tone, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has indicated that “it is a patch, a provisional relief,” while asking to improve resource management. “The aid is not enough to serve all applicants and does not contribute to lowering the rental price,” it is stated, betting on mobilizing VPO for rent and more care for vulnerable groups.
Source: www.lavanguardia.com
