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Madrid’s city council approved planning measures that it estimates could enable up to 18,400 affordable rental homes by 2028. The total combines homes enabled by land-use conversions with additional allowances for floor area and housing density; the council has not said how many will ultimately be built or when they will be available.
Madrid’s city council on Thursday approved planning changes that it says could enable up to 18,400 affordable rental homes by 2028, including by allowing housing on land designated for offices, private community facilities and lodging. The measures were approved by the governing People’s Party (PP) and Vox, while left-wing groups voted against them, according to Expansion.
The city’s total combines two estimates. It says expanded land-use conversion rules could facilitate more than 14,000 homes, while added allowances for building size and density could enable more than 4,400 additional homes. These are projected capacity figures, not confirmation that all the homes will be built or occupied by 2028.
Under the density measure, projects on land zoned for affordable housing may receive up to 20% more permitted floor area and up to 30% higher housing density, without changing the planning rules. The city says the provision applies to multi-unit housing, not single-family homes.
A 2026 amendment to regional legislation opened conversion to housing on sites designated for offices, private community facilities and lodging. Madrid estimates that the expansion could facilitate more than 8,100 homes over the next two years: about 4,900 on office land, around 3,000 on private community-facility sites and approximately 130 on lodging-zoned land. The city also said that applications for 5,806 homes had been processed under the earlier office-land measure during the preceding 21 months.
How the Plan Could Add Rental Homes
The measures target a supply problem in Madrid, where the council says the shortage of homes is particularly acute. Allowing certain sites to be used for housing could create additional routes to build affordable rentals, while higher density and floor-area allowances could increase the number of homes on eligible sites. The likely effect will depend on whether landowners pursue projects and whether those projects proceed through the required planning and construction stages.
The council says the homes are intended for groups most in need, but the report does not specify eligibility rules, rent levels or how affordability will be maintained. The projected total is thus a measure of potential development, not a count of completed homes or a guarantee of lower rents.
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From Office Conversions to Other Sites
Madrid’s measures build on regional Law 3/2024, passed by the Community of Madrid in June 2024 and later amended by Law 2/2026. The original framework facilitated affordable rental housing on vacant office buildings and office-designated plots for a 15-year period. The city had already approved applying that framework locally; the latest expansion adds privately owned community-facility and lodging sites.
The council approved the changes at a special meeting where housing was a central political issue. Expansion reported that left-wing groups opposed both housing-supply initiatives and that the meeting was also overshadowed by controversy around the eviction and death of Maricarmen Abascal. Those circumstances formed part of the political dispute surrounding the vote, rather than evidence about the housing plan’s likely results.
The council also approved a separate measure allowing non-hotel accommodation, including aparthotels, guesthouses and boarding houses, in industrial areas where only hotels had previously been allowed. The city says this is intended to increase short- and medium-term accommodation outside the center and support its policy of redistributing lodging uses. This is a distinct measure from the affordable-rental plan.
“The additional allowances apply “only to multi-unit housing, not single-family homes.””
— Madrid City Council
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How Many Homes Will Be Built?
The figure of up to 18,400 homes is the city’s estimate of what the planning changes could enable. The report does not establish how many proposals will receive approval, secure financing, start construction or be completed by 2028. It also does not give a schedule for individual sites.
Details about rents, affordability periods, tenant eligibility and enforcement are not stated in the source report. The relationship between the more than 14,000 homes attributed to land-use conversion and the more detailed estimate of more than 8,100 homes from the 2026 expansion is also not fully explained there. The numbers should be treated as city projections with different stated scopes, rather than as a confirmed delivery count.
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Projects Must Move to Construction
The next step is for eligible sites and proposals to proceed under the updated planning framework. The source report does not identify a first project, a construction timetable or a citywide reporting schedule for tracking completions. Applications, approvals and completed homes will need to be distinguished as the plan develops.
Further information from the city on site-by-site projects, rent limits, tenant selection and delivery dates would clarify how much of the projected supply will reach renters. The separate rules for lodging in industrial areas will also need to be applied through individual proposals; their approval does not establish how many new accommodation units will open.
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Key Questions
What did Madrid approve?
The city approved planning measures intended to expand affordable rental housing, including conversions of certain office, community-facility and lodging sites and higher floor-area and density allowances for eligible multi-unit housing.
Are 18,400 homes guaranteed to be built?
No. 18,400 is the city’s estimate of potential homes enabled by the measures. The report does not confirm that all will receive approval, be constructed or be ready by 2028.
What types of sites could be converted to housing?
The expanded framework covers land designated for offices, private community facilities and lodging. The city estimates more than 8,100 homes could be facilitated on these site types over the next two years.
How did councillors vote?
The measures were backed by the People’s Party and Vox. Left-wing groups voted against the two initiatives to increase rental housing supply, according to Expansion.
What is the separate industrial-area measure?
It allows non-hotel lodging, such as aparthotels, guesthouses and boarding houses, in industrial zones where the city says only hotels had previously been permitted. It is separate from the affordable-housing measures.
Source: rss
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