Up to 30,000 euros to rehabilitate an empty dwelling and rent it affordably: requirements of the State Housing Plan 2026-2030

The State Housing Plan 2026-2030, regulated by Royal Decree 326/2026, of 22 April, contains a subsidy for rehabilitating empty dwellings to be destined for social or affordable rental, regulated in section 4 of chapter III (article 113). The amount can reach 30,000 euros per dwelling, and 35,000 euros in municipalities of up to 10,000 inhabitants.

The rule seeks to bring empty dwellings into social or affordable rental. The aid is applied individually to each empty dwelling that, after rehabilitation, opts for that destination. For owners, communities of owners and social operators, the formal requirements are as important as the amount.

Dwelling requirements: two years empty and five of rental

Article 113.3 sets two time conditions that structure the entire aid. The first looks to the past: only dwellings that have remained empty for a minimum of two years immediately prior to the award may qualify. The consideration of empty dwelling will be determined as regulated by each autonomous community or the cities of Ceuta and Melilla; failing such regulation, it may be proven through the consumption inherent to the use of the dwelling - utility supplies - during that two-year period.

The second looks to the future: once rehabilitated, the dwelling must be destined for social or affordable rental for a minimum period of five years, with rents within the framework of the State Reference System for the Rental Price of Housing. The rental destination for that five-year period is not a mere private commitment: it must be recorded in a marginal note in the Land Registry, and the five-year period is computed from the completion of the works, provided the note has been registered. For registry and notarial professionals, this formal requirement is the real guarantee of compliance and must be checked in each application.

Who can apply: the cross-referenced catalogue of beneficiaries

Article 113.2 does not create its own catalogue but refers to the beneficiaries of the aid for comprehensive building rehabilitation (section 2) and of the aid for rehabilitation in dwellings (section 3), respectively. That reference has an important practical consequence: the range is much wider than the individual owner. Under articles 96 and 105, beneficiaries may include owners or usufructuaries, whether individuals or legal entities of a private or public nature; public administrations, bodies and publicly owned companies that own the properties; communities of owners and their groupings; grouped owners of buildings without a constitutive horizontal-property title; housing cooperative societies; and tenant or concessionaire companies of the buildings with express power to undertake the works.

Two rules of that cross-referenced regime deserve attention. If the action corresponds to several beneficiaries, the aid is distributed in proportion to the cost assumed by each. And where a tenant agrees with the owner to fund the rehabilitation in exchange for partial or full payment of the rent, the tenant may ask the community or the sole owner for the agreement authorizing them to apply for the aid and to be considered the beneficiary themselves.

The two specific cases of article 113.5

The rule expressly contemplates two scenarios. The first is that of dwellings in a building already rehabilitated with the comprehensive rehabilitation aid of section 2 that did not participate in the distribution of the subsidy because they were empty, as they were not a habitual and permanent residence under the terms of article 97.f).2. In other words, the Plan corrects the exclusion effect that vacancy produced in the building's call and gives those dwellings a second route, now individualized.

The second scenario is that of empty dwellings located in residential-typology buildings that are rehabilitated with the same technical requirements provided for the aid for rehabilitation in dwellings. Those technical requirements refer to those of section 3, among them that the dwelling was finished before 2006 - provable by public deed, Land Registry extract or a descriptive and graphic query of the cadastral data, with leeway for the autonomous communities to admit newer dwellings where circumstances advise it - and that a project for the works is available or, where these do not require one, a report signed by a competent technician justifying the adequacy to the Technical Building Code.

Amount and compatibility with other aid

The aid may reach an amount equal to or below 30,000 euros per dwelling, raised to 35,000 euros where the dwelling is located in a municipality or population centre of 10,000 inhabitants or fewer, in line with the Plan's goal of contributing to the demographic challenge. The subsidy is compatible with any other aid for the same purpose, except those regulated in chapter III itself, with one absolute limit: the total subsidies received may not exceed the cost of the subsidized action.

How to apply and who manages it

Like the other aid under the State Housing Plan 2026-2030, management corresponds to the autonomous communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which call, process and resolve applications charged to the state funding and the co-financing provided in the plan itself. The first practical step is to check whether the relevant community has already opened the call for this program and with what deadline.

The plan's context and the additional heritage aid

The aid sits within a broader funding line for the promotion of building rehabilitation, accessibility and urban and rural renewal, which also articulates aid for urban regeneration, comprehensive building rehabilitation and dwelling rehabilitation. Alongside it, section 5 (article 114) provides for additional aid of up to a further 30,000 euros per dwelling in buildings with heritage protection - assets of cultural interest, historic ensembles or listed buildings - , compatible with the previous ones and with the same cap on the cost of the action.

The royal decree also recalls the role of the Official Credit Institute, with guarantee lines of 1.1 billion euros for the rehabilitation of residential buildings and the mobilization of empty housing, complementary to the subsidies.

Practical keys for owners and advisers

First, proof of vacancy: it is advisable to gather utility bills from the previous two years or the applicable regional regulation now, because it will be the file's first filter. Second, proof of age: deed, registry extract or cadastral query fixing completion before 2006, unless the autonomous community relaxes that requirement. Third, the registry commitment: the marginal note of the affordable-rental destination is unavoidable and must be prepared after completion of the works; a defect here can compromise the aid. Fourth, coordination with other aid: compatibility is permitted but the cap on total cost requires planning the complete financing of the works before applying.

Fifth, the rent: the lease must respect the State Reference System for the Rental Price of Housing for five years, which requires projecting the real profitability of the operation. For those considering leasing as a patrimonial exit, it is also worth reviewing the general rules on rental and its guarantees, such as the deposit, and the recent changes to the regulation of seasonal rentals and evictions, which altered the landscape with Royal Decree-Law 28/2026. And whoever receives the rehabilitated dwelling on a rental basis may also fit into the Plan's own direct rental aid, whose requirements are worth knowing.

Frequently asked questions

How much money can I receive for rehabilitating an empty dwelling? Up to 30,000 euros per dwelling, or 35,000 euros if it is in a municipality of 10,000 inhabitants or fewer, always without exceeding the cost of the action.

How long must the dwelling have been empty? A minimum of two years immediately prior to the award, provable according to regional regulation or through utility consumption.

What obligations do I assume after rehabilitation? To destine the dwelling to social or affordable rental for at least five years, with rent limited by the State Reference System, and to record that destination in a marginal note in the Land Registry.

Can a tenant who funds the rehabilitation apply for the aid? Yes. If the tenant agrees with the owner to fund the works in exchange for partial or full payment of the rent, they can obtain the agreement authorizing them to apply and be the beneficiary themselves.

Can I accumulate other subsidies? Yes, the aid is compatible with other aid for the same purpose, except for those in the same chapter of the plan, but the total sum can never exceed the cost of the action.