Residential exclusion can be defined as a situation in which a person's basic housing needs are not met. However, whether or not a person has access to housing is not the only element that determines it: the adequacy of the housing, its quality, security in the payment of rent, mortgage and/or utilities, affordability, habitability conditions (light, ventilation, usable space or overcrowding, among others) and accessibility, are also determinants of residential exclusion.
The serious housing problem and the lack of affordable housing in recent years has led to a situation in which employment is no longer the sole determinant of exclusion. This is because access to the labor market no longer ensures that adequate housing is available. Thus, housing has become a decisive element in the processes of social exclusion; and it currently represents the main expense for families in Spain: in 2022 (according to the Household Budget Survey) each household spent on average 10,243 euros to pay the mortgage or rent for their home and the bills for electricity, gas, water and other fuels, the highest figure since data has been collected. This means that the responses to tackle it must be structural and multifactorial, in addition to addressing the causes.
The scope of residential exclusion
According to EAPN data, in Spain 23.7% of the population is affected by some indicator of residential exclusion, which translates into around 11 million people with problems accessing or maintaining their housing in adequate conditions. And in 2018, 9.5% of households had an income below the extreme poverty line once the costs of their housing were met(FOESSA).
In this sense, those who present greater vulnerability linked to the cost of housing are people living alone and single people with dependent children. This fact especially affects women, since 81.35% of single-parent families are headed by women; and almost 1 in 5 of these female-headed households are at the severe poverty threshold after having paid for their housing, according to data provided by the Affordable Housing Observatory.
The constant increase in rental prices has resulted in rental expenses exceeding 30% of the salary in all autonomous communities, reaching 60% in areas such as the Community of Madrid, according to this same Observatory. At the same time, the increase in interest rates to contain inflation has led to an increase of between 150 and 200€ per month in mortgage payments, which puts many families in a situation of serious economic difficulty. This also affects the payment of other bills, since almost 10% of the population in Spain has had some delay in the payment of basic housing supplies.
Another serious effect is the high number of evictions occurring on a daily basis, which is increasing again after the extraordinary measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, with the data provided by the CGPJ, in 2022, there were 38,266 evictions, of which 71.95% derived from non-payment of rents.
Homelessness, as the most extreme form of exclusion, has increased by almost 25% in the last 10 years. In Spain, according to INE data, there are 28,552 people in a situation of homelessness, although according to HOGAR SÍ calculations, this figure may increase to 37,000. The impossibility of maintaining a dwelling is one of the main reasons why they were forced into this situation, either because of an eviction, the inability to continue paying for housing, the termination of the rental contract or because the building was in ruins. Consequently, the people surveyed by the National Statistics Institute themselves consider that access to housing or a room would be necessary to leave this situation, followed by access to employment; consolidating structural factors as those that mainly determine this reality.
Some solutions
Faced with these serious consequences triggered by residential exclusion, we find ourselves in a scenario of risk and strong insecurity in which more and more people are affected. In this context, the application of multifactorial and comprehensive measures, which address both the emergency situations suffered by families and the structural problems, is the only possible way to tackle the problem:
- Budgetary and regulatory instruments to ensure the social function of housing.
- Increased social and affordable housing.
- Aid to prevent the loss of housing.
- Structural measures to avoid supply cuts.
- Improve the quality and accessibility of housing, avoiding price increases.
- Promoting inclusive employment and reducing the wage gap.
- Prevention of homelessness.
- Transformation of the system of care for the homeless, ensuring housing solutions together with the diversification of resources to provide support focused on the needs of each person.
Although the approach to solving residential exclusion is complex, it is urgent to begin implementing measures to reduce inequalities to ensure that all people have access to adequate housing.
Alba González, advocacy technician of the Provivienda Association.
