The lack of social housing is the main problem when looking for a place to live in Arrecife. This factor, accompanied by the high prices of rents and the poor condition of many buildings, makes living with minimum conditions in the capital complicated. Given these circumstances, the Department of Housing aims to have land available this year to project social housing.
For this, it is pending the approval of the General Urban Planning Plan as well as the partial plans. On this aspect, the councilor of the area, Emilia Osuna, highlighted that the intention of the council is "this year to have the land to project it and then look for the formula from the City Council to be able to make social housing".
It should be remembered that the last houses of these characteristics built in Arrecife were made about fifteen years ago in Argana. Previously, official protection houses were built in Titerroy and Valterrra, but many years have passed and they are in poor condition.
Aids
The City Council also has a subsidy program to help the citizens of the capital to have a home. In this sense, there are four types of aid that this year have a budget of about 243,000 euros.
The first group consists of subsidies for housing rehabilitation. Its objective is to help people with limited economic resources whose houses have problems to fix these damages.
"They are aids to fix a bathroom or the kitchen or humidity, but not to reform the entire house because we do not give for so much," says the Housing councilor. In this case, the interested parties, after requesting the subsidy, receive a visit from the technicians who determine whether or not the aid is granted.
One of the most requested subsidies is the young housing rental, which is aimed at people between 18 and 35 years old "who are already living on a rental contract, who have been registered in the municipality of Arrecife for five consecutive years except for a correction that was made in the last plenary session of the ordinance for specific cases and who have Spanish nationality," specified Emilia Osuna.
In this case, once the documentation is available, some scales are used to see what money is given. Thus, the investment can last from a few months to two years. Then it is withdrawn for a while in order to help all the people who request it.
New home
People interested in building their own house also have the possibility of having aid. On the one hand, they have the subsidy for a first construction work license for those who do not have housing. In this case, it covers any age and after submitting documentation to the City Council and analyzing it, the building license is subsidized.
Finally, the City Council has an agreement with the College of Architects presenting the previous documentation. Thus, the organization provides advice and gives a subsidy on the plans and what the construction of a first home entails.
The aid program comes from a young housing rental ordinance from two years ago. "I started in June 2005 and they were there as if it reached few people and the same ones always found out.
For two years, the budget items have been increased and, more than anything, to bring it to public light so that all the people of the municipality can know it," concluded the Housing councilor.
