PP renews criticism of Sagunto's affordable rental housing scheme
The Partido Popular (PP, conservative opposition party) in Sagunto is again challenging the Xarxa de Lloguer Assequible affordable-rental network, arguing that a new public consultation to draft its rules proves the scheme was launched without them.
Sagunto's Partido Popular (PP) is keeping up its criticism of the Xarxa de Lloguer Assequible, the municipal scheme designed to bring empty homes onto the rental market by offering owners guarantees such as non-payment insurance and mediation, with the aim of expanding the supply of affordable rental housing. The party, which had already questioned the initiative weeks ago for having "too many unknowns", says it has now found further evidence: the opening of a preliminary public consultation to draft the scheme's regulatory rules.
For the PP, the fact that the council is now asking residents for input on guarantees, incentives, risks and objectives confirms that the network was announced before the rules needed to make it work had been settled. PP spokeswoman Sara Cañada argues this sequence shows the local government sold the project as a solution to the housing crisis before deciding how it would actually operate.
Cañada insists her party backs any measure that improves access to housing, provided it is well designed, but she criticises the ruling team for announcing the network without spelling out key details: how it would work, what guarantees would apply to landlords and tenants, or what rules would govern the service. The PP recalls that months ago it submitted a written list of technical and legal questions -- covering non-payment coverage, legal support for owners, deposit management, conflict-resolution procedures, eligibility criteria for housing, and staffing for the service -- which, it says, remain unanswered.
The group adds that it requested access to the project's administrative file and was told no such file existed for the Xarxa Lloguer Assequible, which Cañada says proves the programme was not fully developed when it was publicly announced. The PP also recalls bringing a motion to the plenary session asking that the service not launch until clear regulatory rules and sufficient legal guarantees were in place for both owners and tenants.
Looking ahead, the PP says it will again request all documentation at the next Comisión Informativa (council briefing committee) and will submit its own proposals during the public consultation, with the stated goal of ensuring the future rules for the Xarxa Lloguer Assequible are solid before the scheme expands across Sagunto. According to El Periódico de Aquí.