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Diari de Catalunya

Protected housing construction in Lleida plummets in recent decades

The city of Lleida has seen an alarming reduction in the construction of protected housing, dropping from hundreds annually to fewer than twenty.

Generic image of construction materials on a building site.
IA

Generic image of construction materials on a building site.

The construction of protected housing in the city of Lleida has experienced a drastic decline in recent decades, falling from hundreds of units annually to fewer than twenty today.

This reduction highlights the ineffectiveness of current policies in addressing the housing crisis, which has become a significant social barrier. Data reveals that, during the 1980s, an average of 572 protected homes were built annually in the capital of Segrià. Today, this figure barely reaches twenty.
Even during the real estate bubble period, between 2000 and 2009, the construction of protected housing was eight times higher than it is now. The belief that the market alone would solve the problem of housing access, through land liberalization or incentives for private developments, has proven to be a failure.
The consequences of this policy are evident: soaring rental prices, inaccessible homeownership, and entire generations struggling to achieve independence, especially in large cities and areas under tourist pressure. The new POUM report for Lleida confirms that rents increased by 55% between 2005 and 2023, while affordable supply disappeared.
The main difference compared to forty years ago is not just the price of flats, but the disproportion between salaries and housing costs. In the early nineties, a flat was equivalent to about 12 to 14 years of gross salary. Currently, in Lleida, the average price exceeds 1,400 euros per square meter, and a modest second-hand flat can cost over 120,000 euros, while salaries have advanced much less.
Historically, protected housing has never been profitable without public support. During periods of greater construction, there were direct aid, favorable financing, and strong administrative intervention, factors that are practically non-existent today. Developers themselves acknowledge that, without subsidies and regulatory stability, projects are not viable. The solution, according to experts, involves massive and sustained construction of public housing.

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