Improving the supply of rental housing in depopulated areas of rural Spain is key to attracting new inhabitants

Although access to housing is one of the main concerns in today's society, this reality is often presented as a problem that only affects urban areas and municipalities with high levels of tourism. Despite this idea, 42% of Spanish municipalities have a depopulation problem, according to the Bank of Spain. A study (summary available here) by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), carried out in conjunction with the Holapueblo initiative, shows how, despite this unfavourable population dynamic, tensions in access to residential housing are clearly evident.

"The debate is ignoring how the housing market can also affect the revitalization of rural areas", explained researchers from the UOC Rural Network. Josep Lladós, from the Digital Business Research Group (DigiBiz), and Soledad Morales Pérez, from the group New Perspectives in Tourism and Leisure (NOUTUR), both members of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the UOC, are the authors of La cuestión de la vivienda en las ruralidades contemporáneas. Un estudio exploratorio (The housing issue in contemporary rural areas: An exploratory study), in which they address the problem of housing in depopulated Spain and provide proposals to achieve its revitalization.

"With Holapueblo, we're working on research to find solutions to the challenge of providing access to housing in rural areas. Working with UOC researchers has allowed us to carry out a detailed diagnosis of the current situation and develop specific proposals for action," said Elena García, coordinator of Holapueblo, a platform to address depopulation promoted by Redeia, AlmaNatura and IKEA. "This report reinforces our commitment to include rural housing in the social agenda, as a key step to attract and retain population," she added.

The main challenge faced by the study was to understand the factors influencing access to housing in rural areas, in terms of both depopulation and possible revitalization. As its sample, the study analysed four municipalities: Belorado (Burgos), Bot (Tarragona), Fuentes de León (Badajoz) and Tragacete (Cuenca), which have all undergone a marked depopulation over the last decade, well above their provincial averages. These types of villages suffer from "depopulation, an ageing population, youth emigration and difficulties in revitalizing their economies, leading to unemployment, social inequality and changes in their productive sectors", said the experts.

The results of the research will be presented today in one of these villages, Tragacete, within the framework of the First Holapueblo Meeting, supported by Tragacete Town Council, Cuenca Provincial Council and the Castile-La Mancha Regional Government. The meeting was attended by other town councils, entities and new residents on the platform.

The study – which has taken into account more than 70 socio-demographic, spatial, socio-economic, tourism and housing stock indicators – carried out a complex analysis of the housing market, in which the houses that make up the market were treated both as real estate assets and as family homes with emotional and cultural value. The research also included a specific analysis of the role of tourism, assessing the impact of second homes and tourist housing in rural areas.

Attracting young people amid the tourism boom

The researchers point out that although there is a positive perception of tourism in rural areas, it has been allowed to proliferate without clear planning or management, with an absence of strategic analysis or reflection, beyond the limitations introduced by town councils in the context of regional policies.

The report also highlights the role of second homes, not only as holiday homes, but as a link to rural life for families originating from these municipalities and a potential – although temporary, the researchers point out – pull factor for the younger generations, who could use these homes as workations – working remotely from places known for their appeal as holiday destinations or as places to relax – or to engage in coworking.

Tensions in access to residential housing are clearly evident in rural areas, despite the ongoing process of depopulation, the report concludes. The researchers have detected common patterns in the municipalities analysed that penalize access to housing for new residents, as well as for young people who wish to become independent while still choosing to live their lives in rural municipalities, thus slowing down revitalization processes.

The factors affecting access to housing vary between municipalities, the report notes, and are more intense in smaller municipalities, due to their limited resources and administrative capacity, as well as the pressure exerted by tourism, which could "generate future tensions if the current limitations in the housing market are not addressed".

The limited supply of affordable rental housing available all year round is the main obstacle to attracting new residents, as is the existence of a large number of empty homes (which in some municipalities is over 20% of the available stock), the deterioration of those houses due to disuse over time, the fragmentation of ownership and the growth of non-residential uses of housing. The experts added that "the lack of alignment between housing demand and supply is often due to the poor condition of unused housing, its poor accessibility, its limited energy efficiency and its poor alignment with current preferences among users, strongly influenced by the idea of rural idyll". 

The obstacle to the arrival of new residents posed by second homes

The Bank of Spain's report confirms that, in addition to all this, the alternative uses of rural housing, such as for second homes or tourist rentals, have reduced the availability of residential housing. "Uses other than residential are key to understanding both the lack of supply for new residents and the price increases, linked to the acquisition of second homes." The fact is that holiday homes, which remain empty for most of the year, account for 40% of the housing stock in some municipalities, with this underutilization being even greater in larger towns. This trend, combined with the lack of incentive to build residential housing – quickly absorbed for tourist or holiday use – exacerbates the lack of supply of homes for new residents.

"The few private initiatives to develop residential housing have been absorbed by demand for second homes, meaning that the shortage of housing supply for new residents has not been alleviated," the study concludes. To this reality we must add its high cost at a time when rents are reaching historic highs in nearby urban areas. In this context, it has been observed that house prices in rural areas – both to buy and to rent – are getting close to those in urban areas.

The report adds that there is a limited supply of publicly owned rural housing, with unused properties susceptible to use for social rental, under affordable economic conditions, provided to meet the demand from new residents. "Its impact has been favourable, but limited, and depends on the possibility of obtaining internal financing or resources from other public administrations", the researchers added.

Proposals to promote rural repopulation

Faced with this scenario, the report prepared by researchers from the UOC identifies potential solutions:

-Transfer as many vacant or unused homes as possible to the residential rental market.

-Establish stable structures to achieve a balance between housing supply and demand, identifying opportunities to attract new residents and addressing their needs, including housing and entrepreneurship support services.

-Design strategic policies to manage tourism, reducing its side effects and taking advantage of its potential for sustainable development.

-Turn municipalities into entrepreneurial spaces, promoting mixed ownership structures that also benefit private investors.

-Regulatory policies – going beyond the local level – for urban regeneration and to increase the housing supply, including the rehabilitation of public real estate assets for residential use and the creation of a pool of vacant homes for potential applicants.

About Holapueblo

Holapueblo is an initiative by Redeia, AlmaNatura and IKEA to combat depopulation. Its objectives are to attract new inhabitants and regenerate the business fabric and the economy by launching entrepreneurial projects in depopulated parts of Spain. The initiative has run four times, and work on the fifth is now under way, and it is working with 100 municipalities. So far "we've managed to help 45 municipalities welcome 167 new inhabitants (68 families) and to get 42 business projects up and running. In the coming months, another 41 people from 20 families will join us", a representative of the platform said.

“The journey has been very positive, not without challenges, but really exciting. We've been able to connect entrepreneurs with towns undergoing revitalization and generate opportunities for economic and social development in rural environments. We've also seen that the platform has a real impact on the settlement of new inhabitants in these communities," said Elena García.

This research by the UOC contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.

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