The Unsustainable Rise of Residential Insecurity in Spain

Abstract

Since the onset of the economic crisis, residential insecurity has been worsening in Spain. More than half the households headed by adults under the age of 45 are in fear of losing their home in the near future. Young Spanish adults are more fearful than European counterparts of losing a roof over their heads because of being unable to pay (54% compared with 33%) and the difference has also increased in recent years as the weight of rental sector has risen. This is a valid perception. Among households of young adults, 42% are paying market rent, which is the most insecure option of all for a collective beset by job insecurity. Young adults have left behind the long period of massive access to home ownership. The probability that a young Spanish household will feel more threatened than a European one is greater, independently of the tenure involved. This is related with a legal and institutional context that militates against housing stability. Residential insecurity is one of the main dimensions of insecurity of life conditions in general and it is therefore necessary to take urgent measures to manage it. This number of Perspectives Demogràfiques examines the levels of residential insecurity in Spain and enquires into its possible causes, in particular the evolution of rental sector. Several sources are studied in order to scrutinise the recent rent increases (Encuesta de Condiciones de Vida – Living Conditions Survey) and perceived residential insecurity (European Quality of Life Survey).

The polarization of real estate ownership and increasing wealth inequality in Spain

“…Growing unemployment, credit restrictions and the tightening in the conditions of access to mortgage loans hindered the purchase of homes for significant parts of the population (Leal & Martínez del Olmo, 2017). These new features led to a further complication of access to housing for vulnerable populations when prices started rising again after 2015 (Módenes, 2019). Overall, these developments suggest that housing wealth decreased among households with fewer economic resources after the financial crisis, and did not recover in the years after that despite the recovery of the economy and the housing market.…”