Andorra Housing Minister Defends Guarantee Program Amid Criticism

Housing Minister Conxita Marsol has defended the government's home purchase guarantee programme amid criticism from the Andorran Housing Syndicate and real estate representatives, while outlining progress on mobilising empty flats and converting tourist apartments to rentals.

Authorities have dispatched around 800 letters to owners of presumed vacant properties, with 1,000 more to follow in the initial phase. Non-responding properties will be deemed empty, allowing intervention under the law to integrate them into the rental market. Initial feedback has highlighted obstacles such as unresolved inheritances, legal disputes, or combined units. Once complete, officials will assess replies and target confirmed vacancies. Marsol presented these steps—together with nearly 400 tourist flats shifted to long-term rentals—as support for purchase incentives to broaden housing options.

The guarantee initiative has seen 11 applications in its first two months, surpassing the 19 received over three years by the previous scheme. Two contracts are signed, with properties averaging €400,000 under the €600,000 limit. Marsol pressed the Andorran Real Estate Agents and Managers Association (AGIA), chaired by Gerard Casellas, to contribute properties and suggestions instead of doubting the scheme. She deemed current critiques hasty, advocating a comprehensive evaluation in eight to nine months. A bill to gradually deregulate rentals is slated for the General Council in March.

Casellas maintained his doubts, pointing to young buyers' aversion to long-term commitments amid high costs and extended mortgages, often necessitating dual incomes. He recognised the programme's aims but foresaw minimal uptake.

The Housing Syndicate argued that purchase supports overlook rental strains like rising costs and tenant insecurity impacting families. It opposed personalised solutions, favouring an independent authority with specialists such as valuers and Andorra Research and Innovation to establish fair rents and prices. Spokesman Tomàs González noted the syndicate's growth to 40 members and intent to engage the head of government, potentially escalating to public action over severe cases and emigration risks.

In Andorra la Vella, the Jovial youth complex remains fully committed despite recent enforcement. Of 80 units, eight are loaned to the government for social programmes under a recently renewed one-year agreement. The parish manages the remaining 72 for 18- to 35-year-olds: 66 occupied, six new tenants expected this month to fill them, and 110 on the waiting list—a rise from 99 in November 2024. Launched in 2009 with three studios, 55 one-bedroom flats (three adapted for reduced mobility), and 14 two-bedroom units, demand has surged with rental price escalation, extending waits beyond two years.

Comú housing councillor Marc Torrent said the backlog shows insufficient efforts to tackle the crisis's roots, urging serious measures. The parish dissolved the managing firm Joves i Vivenda Alternativa, SLU, in May after audits revealed deficits and redundancies in external services, opting for direct departmental control to boost efficiency. It terminated two contracts for chronic non-payments dating to 2020-2021, totalling over €15,000 despite prior fractionation attempts via social services. A subletting case, flagged anonymously last August, was confirmed after checks from September to November; the tenant could not be contacted, prompting a BOPA notice next week for eight-day response before a 30-day eviction window, with social support for subtenants.

Torrent disclosed investigations into further potential sublets based on new tips, acknowledging detection challenges without daily contact. Responses include annual pre-notified inspections, yearly income reviews for better oversight, and a new protocol barring re-access for violators. This will feature in an updated Jovial regulation under a broader communal public housing framework, alongside non-payment steps: contact after one month, social intervention after two, and judicial action after three if not vulnerability-related. Recent and incoming tenants follow current rules to avoid delays.