López said they are used to the “hasty” decisions of the “latest-generation” Council of Ministers, which he described as “sectarian, ideological and unjustified.” He also accused the Government of Spain of being unable, during this legislative term, to provide solutions to the serious housing problems across the country.
STATE HOUSING LAW
The minister said that, although in his view “the state housing law as a whole is harmful,” this had not prevented his department from applying certain provisions it considered reasonable, such as Article 15, which allows publicly owned land designated for public facilities to be used to promote the construction of affordable public rental housing. For that reason, he said he did not understand the distribution of funds to regions applying only Article 18, which regulates stressed areas.
He also reiterated the Government of Aragon’s refusal to declare such areas. He justified this by saying that “Aragon is not Madrid or the Balearic Islands” and that there is an alternative that increases the housing supply where it is needed instead of putting pressure on the market.
Octavio López also reviewed the municipalities interested in this measure. Canfranc requested it in February 2024 but withdrew its application on April 19 after learning about the Government of Aragon’s Housing Plan.
Alpartir, Ainsa and Biescas are other municipalities that have expressed interest in being declared stressed areas. Based on this state distribution and their populations, they would have received only €132,000, whereas the DGA’s Más Vivienda Plan has invested €7,300,000 in these towns, supporting the construction of 15 homes in Biescas and 22 in Ainsa, the minister explained.
