Catalan president Salvador Illa has announced a €100 million (about $114 million) programme that would let people over 40 with stable incomes buy a home jointly with the regional government. He also unveiled an anti-eviction fund and wider emancipation loans.

Key takeaways

• The Generalitat (Catalonia’s regional government) would co-own homes with buyers over 40 who earn steadily but cannot get a large enough mortgage.
• If the government held half, the savings needed for a deposit on a €250,000 flat would fall from about €50,000 to about €25,000 (roughly $57,000 to $28,500).
• It is an announcement, not an open call: income rules, price caps, exact age bands and what happens at the end of the term are details still to be confirmed.

What happened

On Tuesday 29 September, in his opening speech of the General Policy Debate in the Catalan Parliament, Illa presented three housing measures. The newest is a joint-purchase scheme aimed at people over 40 who have stable incomes but cannot obtain a mortgage big enough to buy a home on their own.

According to reports from the Catalan public broadcaster 3Cat and other outlets, the Generalitat would own part of the home (around half, and a larger share, reported as 60%, for older buyers) and the buyer the rest, with the right to live in it for several decades. The buyer could sell their share or leave it to heirs, but the government would have a preferential right to buy it back. The home would keep its status as officially protected (price-controlled) housing. The programme starts with €100 million (about $114 million).

Details still to be confirmed: news reports do not fully agree on the exact age bands, the share the government would take in each band, the length of the right of use, or what exactly happens when the term ends. These points will only be settled when the official rules are published.

The other two measures are a €25 million (about $29 million) emergency fund to buy homes where vulnerable people face eviction, and an expansion of emancipation loans for young people aged 18 to 40, which can now also be used to buy protected housing or to pay for renovation work. Illa also said the government has 45,551 protected homes in progress, towards its goal of 50,000 by 2030.

What it means for your money

The biggest obstacle to buying is usually the deposit: Spanish banks typically lend at most 80% of the price, and buyers must also cover taxes and fees on top. An illustrative example (dollar figures at roughly $1.14 per euro):

• Buying alone: a €250,000 flat (about $285,000) × 20% deposit = €50,000 (about $57,000) in savings, just for the deposit.
• With a 50% government share: your part is €250,000 × 50% = €125,000 (about $143,000). A 20% deposit on that is €125,000 × 20% = €25,000 (about $28,500), and the mortgage is smaller too.

In return, you would not own 100% of the home, and the right to live in it lasts a limited time. Important details are still missing: income requirements, maximum prices, which homes will be included, what exactly happens at the end of the term and when applications will open. For now this is an announcement, not an open call for applications.

What you can do

• Sign up to Catalonia’s Register of Applicants for Officially Protected Housing (Registre de Sol·licitants d’Habitatge amb Protecció Oficial) if you are not on it yet: it is the usual first step to qualify for protected homes in Catalonia.
• Work out what you can afford: as a rule of thumb, your mortgage payment should not exceed roughly 30–35% of your monthly take-home pay.
• If you are under 40, look into the emancipation loans from the Catalan Housing Agency (Agència de l’Habitatge de Catalunya), which now also cover protected housing.
• Don’t sign anything based on this plan until the official rules are published on gencat.cat, and be wary of any intermediary promising early access.

Sources

• 3CatInfo: How the plan for over-40s to buy a flat jointly with the Generalitat works (Catalan)
• Diari Públic: Joint home purchases and an anti-eviction fund, Illa’s new approaches (Catalan)
• Ara (English): Antoni Bassas’s analysis of the plan
• Canal 21 Ebre: Illa announces a joint home-purchase plan for over-40s (Catalan)
• CaixaBank Research: EUR/USD FX flash, 29 September 2026 (exchange rate used for dollar conversions)

Written by The Daily Economy editorial team with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Read our editorial policy.