The Left Addresses Access to Decent Housing in Alicante

Iniciativa-Compromís held an event on Thursday to address the issue of housing access. The party also proposed solutions to mitigate this widespread trend affecting all working people. The event, 'Right to Live', featured Compromís MP Alberto Ibáñez, Dani Simón from EUPV, Mary Cueva, the youth secretary of CCOO Alacantí-Marines, and Xavi Martínez from Comuns and housing rights activist, alongside Compromís Alicante councillor, Rafa Mas.

In this context, Compromís MP in Congress, Alberto Ibáñez, highlighted the Bill to ban the sale of homes to companies, legal entities, and vulture funds, a law that should organise indefinite or long-term rentals. He also informed that in November, the committee will discuss the bill for seasonal and holiday rentals, which was excluded from the state Housing Law regulation.

The MP referred to the specific case of the Alicante regions where 35% of homes purchased are by non-residents in Spain, who "neither live, work, nor holiday in Alicante", while the Spanish average is 8%. Alicante is the leading province in the country with these characteristics and also the first in second homes, with 42% of all second homes in Spain. In addition to the issue of tourist apartments, Alicante accounts for 63.5% of the entire Valencian Community, Ibáñez explained.

In this vein, the spokesperson for the municipal group Compromís, Rafa Mas, who presented the event, stated that "Alicante holds the record for urban speculation and illegal tourist flats, the cause of the disappearance of more than 20% of neighbourhood shops". For Mas, "it is a tragedy that for every home offered in Alicante, there are 126 people waiting to rent it, because speculation has been prioritised over people's right to live".

Meanwhile, Dani Simón from EUPV called for the Government to amend spending rules so that municipalities can make exceptions to invest in housing. Simón also urged for an increase in public housing stock and the application of pre-emption and retraction rights for housing acquisition by councils.

The representative of the CCOO youth, Mary Cueva, stated that "the housing problem is a working-class issue, a class problem. And it is no longer just a youth issue, it is intergenerational, no matter where you work, because previously a waitress couldn't rent a house, now it happens to a doctor."

Finally, Xavi Martínez from Comuns highlighted the case of Catalonia, where the state Housing Law is applied, allowing "prices to be regulated, even lowered. In addition to a series of measures from municipalities to stop evictions and monitor abusive prices in home purchases".