How Franco turned Spain into a property-owning nation.

**The dream of home ownership: from Franco to the bubble and back**
Francoism drove property ownership in Spain, a political goal aimed at decoupling citizens from precariousness and fostering social stability.
This policy, initiated in the 1950s and 1960s, materialized as deep intervention in the real estate market, incentivizing owner-occupied housing construction and discouraging renting. The goal was to create a "society of owners, not of proletarians," as defined by **José Luis Arrese**, Minister of Housing.
However, this model, bolstered during democracy with tax deductions and credit deregulation, culminated in the 2007 housing bubble, whose consequences have led to a growing dependence on renting and a resurgence of inequality, echoing social conflicts seen in the thirties.

## The Francoist impetus for ownership

The Spain of the mid-20th century was largely a nation of tenants. Until the 1960s, approximately half of the housing supply in the country was rented. In 1950, only one out of twenty residents in Madrid or Barcelona owned a home. This reality began to change dramatically with the arrival of Francoism and its resolute policy promoting ownership.
The mass migration from the countryside to large cities, especially between 1951 and 1975, led to unplanned urban growth and the emergence of marginalized neighborhoods. Faced with this scenario, the regime viewed housing ownership as a tool to ensure social stability and disarm a potentially volatile population.

Arrese's directive translated into active intervention in the real estate market. The 1954 law on limited-rent housing facilitated the construction of millions of protected homes, financing up to **60%** of their value. The strategy was not to directly help citizens, but to subsidize private operators who built housing blocks—often of low aesthetic and technical quality—that now constitute the characteristic peripheral estates of urban areas. This impetus generated a genuine construction boom. The II National Housing Plan, between 1961 and 1975, managed to build **four million** flats. To facilitate access to these homes, the Bank of Mortgages of Spain was created, assuming the risk that private banks were unwilling to take on when granting mortgages to working classes. This interventionist model, focused on ownership rather than renting, resembles what **Margaret Thatcher** would implement in the United Kingdom decades later with her "right to buy" policy.

## Brick as the pillar of the economy

The Francoist housing policy laid the foundations for an economic model heavily rooted in construction and tourism. The slogan "Spain is different," promoted by Minister **Manuel Fraga**, became a reality for builders, who saw the potential of the real estate market expand not only for primary residence but also for second homes and tourist accommodation. Population growth, though it soon stagnated, combined with tourist demand, creating a feedback loop between both sectors. During the period known as desarrollismo (1959-1974), Spain constructed **400,000** new homes annually.

Despite the transition to democracy, "Francoist real estate" was never completely dismantled. Housing construction continued at a dizzying pace: between 1999 and 2007, more than **half a million** new homes were started annually. This policy has made Spain one of the developed countries with the highest number of housing units per inhabitant, exceeding **five hundred** per thousand Spaniards, according to OECD data. The country has **three million** vacant homes and another **three million** second homes, the largest park in Europe. Despite this abundance, the idea that solving housing problems means building more remains deeply ingrained. The owner-occupier model became an implicit pact between the State and its citizens: in exchange for a modest welfare state and comparatively low wages, security of owning a home was offered. This housing became a fundamental asset, a refuge in times of economic difficulty, similar to an aristocrat's jewels or a shepherd's herds. However, this system also left citizens subject to the fluctuations of the real estate market, a macroeconomic variable over which they had little control.

## The bubble and its burst

With the arrival of democracy, the State gradually reduced its role as a direct subsidizer of protected owner-occupied housing. Nevertheless, the promotion of ownership continued through tax deductions, which rose from representing **50%** of state investment in housing in the early nineties to **80%** in 2003. Parallel to this, there was a deregulation of credit access. The Bank of Mortgages of Spain ceased its monopoly on mortgages, and private banks began offering products with increasingly longer durations and larger amounts. The drop in interest rates encouraged unprecedented mortgage debt: between 1994 and 2007, it multiplied by **twelve**. This period coincided with the construction of **six million** homes.

The peak of owner-occupancy in Spain was reached in 2007, with **87%** of households owning at least one home. It was precisely then that the model collapsed. The housing bubble burst, and unemployment soared from **8%** to **18%**, and subsequently to **27%**. The price of housing, the main asset of Spanish families, began to decline. The refuge promised by Francoism crumbled. The inability to meet mortgage payments triggered a wave of evictions: during the five years trinc 2007, **two hundred** evictions were recorded daily. In 2009, the Platform of Those Affected by Mortgages (PAH) was born, and that same year, Airbnb arrived in Spain, marking the beginning of vacation rental expansion.

## From owners to tenants: the return to renting

The "Spanish dream" of home ownership, an adaptation of the American Dream, was truncated by the crisis. New generations were forced to return to the rental model, a format that had been considered outdated and unattractive. The push for ownership went hand-in-hand with the marginalization of renting, turning it into a residual option.
The Boyer Decree of 1985, approved by the socialist government of **Felipe González**, eliminated rent controls on urban rentals, which until then had been governed by formulas such as the old tenancy agreement. Furthermore, the obligation for landlords to renew contracts if tenants wished was abolished. A decade later, the possibility of one-year rental contracts was introduced. As a result, when young people and other groups were excluded from the property market, they found themselves in an unregulated rental market with severely curtailed tenant rights.

Currently, buying a home in Spain is dominated by individuals and entities with high assets. In 2023 and 2024, almost **60%** of purchases were made with cash, without a mortgage, including those by large investment funds. Another **15%** was accounted for by non-resident foreign buyers. Conversely, the rental population has increased significantly: from **13.5%** of households in 2007 to nearly **19%** in 2023. The increase is even more pronounced in large cities, where real estate markets are particularly tense. In Barcelona, **44%** of households rent.
The prospect of inheriting a home is increasingly slim for young tenants; only three out of ten expect to do so, and in many cases, inheritances will be of little value or must be shared, perpetuating inequality.

## The ghost of rent strikes

The current situation of tenants in Spain presents parallels with the thirties, when major rental strikes occurred. The fundamental difference lies in the omnipresence of tourism and the specialization of thousands of homes for holiday use. The tourism sector, ironically benefited by the housing construction policy, has contributed to many residential units being used for short-term rentals instead of residents.
The calculation is simple: it is more profitable to rent to a tourist or a digital nomad than to a resident.
Tourist destinations also coincide with areas of high employment, i.e., where people want to live.

The consequences are evident. If at the beginning of the 20th century rent accounted for only **10%** of family spending in Barcelona, today the average Spaniard dedicates **41%** of their salary to paying rent, a heavy burden especially for young people in capitals and coastal areas.
In Barcelona, the average rent has long exceeded the minimum wage, although recent rental regulation in Catalonia has introduced some restraint. Against this backdrop, movements of claim have resurged. In 2017, the Sindicat de Llogateres de Catalunya and the Sindicato de Inquilinas e Inquilinos de Madrid were founded, gathering thousands of members in just a few years. Other similar organizations have spread throughout the country. The Madrid Tenants' Union has called demonstrations under the slogan "The time of politicians is over: toward a rent strike," evoking past protests and raising the question of whether the legacy of Francoist real estate can finally be overcome.