Andorra Unions Slam Rent Unfreezing Plan, Warn of 94% Hikes and Social Crisis

The Unió Sindical d'Andorra (USdA) and the Andorran Housing Union (SHA) have intensified their opposition to the government's planned rent unfreezing from 2027, warning of doubled rents, family displacements, and risks to social cohesion, while demanding wage hikes, strict rent caps, and early elections.

In a detailed statement, the USdA calculated that the draft law's cumulative increases could raise rents by up to 94% in three years. For an 80-square-metre flat in Andorra la Vella currently at €5.50 per square metre (€440 monthly), it could climb to €856, followed by annual IPC adjustments. This would burden minimum-wage earners (net around €1,400), pushing rent from 31% to 61% of income, and pensioners (€900), from 49% to 95%. Young people face new contracts at €13.50 per square metre or more, hindering emancipation, while middle-income Andorran families already relocate to neighbouring countries. With about 25,000 rental contracts and 20,000 under extensions, the USdA called the policy accelerated market liberalisation that fails to prioritise cohesion.

The union proposed binding limits capping rents at 35% of household income, IPC-only hikes for pensioners, protections up to 1.5 times the minimum wage, urgent public housing expansion beforehand, and mandatory biennial social impact assessments. It labelled the approach a policy failure, linking it to eroded trust from the EU agreement process, and demanded early elections to reset direction.

The USdA also pressed for structural wage updates, noting most parish salary grids date to 2002 without comprehensive revisions, despite spot measures like Escaldes-Engordany's 10% linear rise or Sant Julià de Lòria's targeted adjustments. Even the 2026 minimum wage of €1,525.33—above IPC—is deemed insufficient against housing and basic costs, with calls for permanent mechanisms tying pay to real economic shifts and effective social dialogue.

Following its February 28 open assembly, the SHA thanked Head of Government Xavier Espot and Housing Minister Conxita Marsol for the February 18 consultation but criticised the gradual unfreezing as politically softened deregulation favouring large landlords. It questioned whether the plan truly protects tenants, corrects market imbalances, or prevents a 2027 crisis, rejecting narratives of balanced interests. A detailed response is forthcoming after internal debates.

Both groups highlighted alignment between housing and labour movements, planning parish- and neighbourhood-level organising to avert unprecedented social fallout.