OFFICIALS in a remote corner of ‘empty Spain’ are offering grants of up to €30,000 to homeowners in a move they hope will breathe new life into the country’s depopulated villages.
The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha have launched an initiative called ‘Moviliza tu vivienda rural’ (‘Mobilise your rural home’), which aims to bring empty village properties back into use.
The scheme will hand eligible homeowners grants worth tens of thousands of euros if they are willing to renovate their properties and rent them out to new residents.
The programme is funded through Spain’s National Housing Plan and is designed to tackle the issue of depopulation in rural areas by giving property owners financial security and legal protection.
READ MORE: Madrid is banking on recent immigration influx to repopulate inland ’empty Spain’ regions
Homeowners could be eligible for up to €30,000 in grants – up to €12,000 to renovate and furnish the property, a further €18,000 to cover any damage when the rental period ends and €600 per month if the owner needs to use savings or take out a loan to cover renovation costs.
As part of the deal, rents will be capped at €600 per month and properties must be made available for a minimum of seven years.
Local councils will also cover building permit costs and 95 per cent of the construction tax to further reduce owners’ outgoings.
According to a recent report by the Comisiones Obreras trade union, there are more than 300,000 empty homes in Castilla-La Mancha – with 61 per cent of them located in municipalities of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.
Many are tied up in unresolved inheritances or deemed not profitable enough by their owners to renovate.
That has led the regional government’s vice-president Jose Luis Martinez Guijarro to argue that there is no need to build new housing, when so many empty properties already exist.
Castilla-La Mancha has had a dedicated depopulation strategy since 2021, including tax incentives for those who choose to live and set up businesses in affected areas.
Since then, the region’s depopulated zones have gained 4,732 new residents – 3,611 of them in areas of extreme depopulation.
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