Spain's housing minister 'pays' €161 a month for a 230-square-metre public flat

**Ministers pay €161 for 230m² public flats**
Senior state officials enjoy public housing for an average of 161 euros a month, while the state covers fixed costs. The situation contrasts with high rents on the open market.

The allocation of public housing to senior state officials and political representatives in exchange for a symbolic sum that barely reaches an average of **161 euros a month** has become a point of friction in a red-hot property market. These homes, often large and in prime areas, amount to a tax benefit that contrasts sharply with the reality of most citizens, who face rents of more than **1,800 euros** for considerably smaller properties. Current legislation, dating back almost half a century, has barely been amended, allowing this system of payment in kind to remain in force, benefiting those who hold public positions of responsibility.

## An outdated tax privilege

The Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas (IRPF) — Spain's personal income tax law — in articles **42 and 43**, is the basis on which this housing allocation system rests. These rules cover benefits in kind, that is, goods or services that employers (in this case, the state) provide to their workers and that must be declared as part of their income. In the case of housing, the law establishes that a senior official's use of a state-owned property is considered income in kind. The value of this income is generally calculated as a percentage of the property's cadastral value.

However, applying these percentages, which in theory should reflect market value, has produced derisory amounts. For example, for an official residence whose cadastral value has not been recently revised, **5%** of it is applied. If the cadastral value has been updated, the percentage falls to **5%**. The law also sets a maximum limit on this valuation, fixing it at **10%** of the official's remaining pay. This means that, in practice, the tax cost for the senior official is reduced to a fraction of what it would cost to rent a similar property on the open market. The state also usually covers fixed costs such as electricity, water and heating, further increasing the benefit for the occupant.

## The minister and her 230-square-metre flat

A specific case that has highlighted this situation is that of the **housing minister**, who, according to available data, has a public flat of **229.8 square metres** with eight rooms in Madrid. Her official salary for **2026** is estimated at almost **86,000 euros gross**. Applying the **5%** benefit-in-kind rate to her salary adds roughly **4,300 euros** to her annual taxable base. With a marginal rate of **45%**, the net tax payable for use of this home comes to around **1,935 euros a year**, which translates into just over **161 euros a month**. This figure, a tiny fraction of the real cost of a property of that kind in the capital, highlights the disconnect between the rule and today's property market reality.

## An untouchable system?

What is peculiar about this system is that, despite constant changes of government and economic crises, the regulation of benefits in kind for the use of public housing has remained practically unchanged since the Ley del IRPF came into force almost fifty years ago. No political party, whatever its ideology, has pushed through significant reforms to update these figures or bring them closer to market prices. This suggests a kind of tacit consensus or, at least, a lack of political will to change a benefit from which, to a greater or lesser extent, everyone who has held high office has gained.

The opacity over who exactly has these homes and the lack of transparency about the details of their allocation add another layer of controversy. At least **12 ministers** and other senior officials, including second deputy prime minister **Yolanda Díaz** and the speaker of Congress, **Francina Armengol**, are estimated to have access to this type of benefit. Even regional premiers, some of whom own their own homes in the same city where they work, enjoy public housing for an average of **200 euros a month**. The situation is worse if we consider that public servants in other branches, such as healthcare workers and teachers, face extreme difficulties in finding decent housing in the cities where they work, sometimes even turning down posts for that reason.

The Dirección General de Tributos has issued rulings exempting from declaration as income in kind the use of residences such as La Moncloa or the headquarters of the Ministerio del Interior, citing 'reasons of special importance' such as security. The only prime minister who voluntarily included the corresponding amount as salary in kind in his tax return was **José María Aznar**, who had previously been a tax inspector at Hacienda (Spain's tax authority). This exception underscores the general rule of no taxation or minimal taxation.

Doubts also extend to other stays by senior representatives outside their assigned official residences, such as holidays at government estates or palaces. Hacienda's lack of clarity over whether such stays should be considered taxable remuneration in kind leaves room for interpretation that is expected to favour the occupant. Experts' proposals for greater transparency, changing the tax treatment or bringing it closer to market prices, and even setting a fixed taxable amount, appear to be necessary measures to align the system with today's social and economic reality.


* **161 euros** is the average monthly payment made by some senior officials for public housing.
* Public homes assigned to politicians can exceed **230 square metres**.
* The **IRPF** law has regulated benefits in kind for almost 50 years.
* **12 ministers** and other senior officials have access to this type of housing.
* The cost of a similar rental on the open market exceeds **1,800 euros** a month.


Ley del IRPF, Comunidad de Madrid, Dirección General de Tributos, José María Aznar, Yolanda Díaz, Francina Armengol.