Just because rural Catalonia is not as large as urban Catalonia does not mean that small towns do not have needs in terms of mobility, technology and housing. In order to improve this situation, the Municipal Ordinance Law was approved in the summer (608 municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, representing 4% of Catalonia’s population), and this Saturday the government convened a municipal council in Mont-Saint-Bene (Burgess) attended by around 300 mayors. When it comes to housing, president Salvador Illa has announced several new housing-related developments that will try to stop the depopulation of what Catalans call their region. The initiative aims to promote the revitalization of vacant buildings in these municipalities and convert them into affordable regular rental housing. Vacant properties include unoccupied private residences, former homes of teachers and doctors, and municipal buildings that are no longer in use.
“Avoiding population decline and guaranteeing rural life is synonymous with guaranteeing the right to housing,” Ira asserted in his speech at the conference. Heads of Government have outlined a series of initiatives, including, inter alia, allocating €20 million a year to help buy 100 affordable homes in these areas. But the bulk of it lies in rehabilitation, and the plan is expected to be approved by the Executive Council this Tuesday. “We want to empower mayors because they are trusted by the public. They are the ones who have to make the final decisions,” he added.
To materialize this plan, the Generalitat Housing Agency, which relies on the Ministry of Territories, will work with regional councils to launch a rural housing exchange with the idea of mobilizing regional councils to support recovery. The commitment is to allocate €5 million each year until 2029 for the works, to be paid jointly by the Generalitat and the owners (whether private or the council itself). These funds will make it possible to rebuild 100 homes a year. While this may seem small from a city perspective, it can have an impact in very small municipalities. Of the 608 towns with a population of less than 2,000, 381 have fewer than 500 neighbors.
“We will also create Inkasol rural village,” he added. presidentrefers to a specific team within the current institute (six experts in architecture, law and engineering), which will be dedicated to providing technical support to city halls and local councils. Mr. Ira assured that this was a long-standing territorial claim and that it would help. For example, processing permits, activities in the old city, cooperation in reconstruction, etc.
This day consisted of four work tables. It was Presidential Advisor Albert Dalmau who was responsible for presenting financial measures, public funds, regulation or connectivity developments to the mayor. Alicia Romero, Department of Economics; Sylvia Paneke is a researcher in territory, housing and ecological transitions, and Òscar Ordeig is an agricultural researcher. Mr. Ila recalled that the law was inherited from the ERC government and was stalled due to electoral advances.
The new financial measures for local authorities, designed specifically for under-35s and families with children, include a reduction in the transfer tax rate (4%, 3% for municipalities of special consideration), a 75% bonus for notarial acts, and, from 2026, a deduction of up to 20% on personal income tax for the transfer, purchase, rehabilitation and rental of a principal residence. “Living in town should be an opportunity, not an obstacle,” he said. president.
In parallel, the future territorial law (the first draft of which is expected to be published in early 2026) is planned to adapt, streamline and facilitate municipal urban planning and public procurement procedures. Despite their specificity and limited resources, local governments often face the same bureaucracy as large cities. “We want to bring a local perspective to each law, each project, and look at the country from the smallest municipality,” he added.
Other novelties include an increase of more than $7.5 million to the Local Cooperation Fund and the creation of a regulatory research group to adapt and simplify regulations, which the government sees as a “key part of the law’s development.” Finally, the Catalan government stated, “We are proceeding with infrastructure development and reaffirm our commitment to reach 100% of connected municipalities this term.” The public fiber optic network currently spans 7,500 kilometers and reaches 684 municipalities.
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