The Governing Council of CASA 47, the State Housing Agency under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, has approved the terms and conditions of a €100 million public tender to purchase private homes throughout Spain.
The properties purchased will be added to the public housing stock and used for affordable rentals. Interested owners will be able to submit their offers for four months starting the day after the call for bids is published on the Public Sector Contracting Platform, which is expected to happen in the coming days.
What homes can the State buy?
Not all homes are eligible. The call for bids establishes a specific profile: apartments between 40 and 120 m² without any type of official public protection, located in high-rise buildings—single-family homes are excluded.
In addition, they must be exterior, with windows facing the street or patios of the minimum regulatory dimensions, and without windowless bedrooms.
In terms of the condition of the property, the building must have passed the Technical Building Inspection (ITE), and homes located above the fourth floor must have an elevator. The apartment must be delivered empty, with its facilities and kitchen equipment, and have at least a kitchen, living room or main room, and a full bathroom. Lofts and studios will also be eligible if they meet the other requirements.
How each offer will be evaluated
The purchase price will not be open: CASA 47 will always pay the lowest of three possible values. The first is the price requested by the seller. The second is the official appraisal value determined by an appraiser approved by the Bank of Spain. The third is the average sale price per square meter recorded by the Notarial Statistics Portal for that specific area.
This triple filter prevents the State from paying more than the real market price. For example, a 70 m² home in an area where the average price is €2,000/m² will have a maximum purchase price of €140,000, regardless of what the owner asks for or what the appraisal indicates.
The total budget will also cover the costs and taxes arising from the sale and, if the property requires it, any adaptation or renovation work, provided that the total cost does not exceed 110% of the appraised value.
Which homes will be given priority
The call for bids will not give equal weight to all offers. Priority will be given to homes located in areas with a tight residential market, i.e., those areas where households spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
Offers for entire blocks or groups of homes will also receive a higher score than individual apartments.
Other factors that will improve the position of an offer in the tender will be compliance with universal accessibility regulations, recent comprehensive renovation, and an A, B, or C energy rating.
Compliance with urban planning regulations and the economic efficiency of the operation will also be part of the award criteria.
The initiative is part of the government’s goal to increase the public housing stock to European standards, which place social housing at around 8% of the total.
According to government data, Spain is well below that figure, and the direct purchase of existing homes is one of the avenues being explored, along with new construction, renovation, and the incorporation of state assets into the CASA 47 portfolio.
