Los Berrocales and Los Ahijones to add new homes for young people and families

The model is intended for people who need stability but cannot enter the purchase market right now. Tenants will be able to live in rented accommodation for seven years and, after that period, buy the home with part of what they paid during that time deducted.

The plots are valued at €82 million and will be divided into four lots. Homes may be up to 90 square metres, with an estimated monthly rent of around €950. The sale price is set at €3,600 per square metre, which would put a typical 90-metre flat at around €324,000.

One of the most striking points is the reservation for young people. Half of the homes will be for people under 35, one of the groups that has the greatest difficulty becoming independent in Madrid. In a city where rent absorbs a large part of wages, the promise of a future purchase may be attractive to many families and young couples.

The measure, however, arrives amid debate. The City Council argues that this formula expands supply and provides an intermediate route between renting and buying. The opposition criticises the sale of public land and warns that, once the protected period has passed, municipal control over those homes may weaken.

The case recalls earlier operations that raised doubts about how long housing truly remains affordable once land passes into private hands. For its critics, the risk is that the solution will work for a few years but end up feeding the free market in an already pressured city.

Los Berrocales and Los Ahijones will be among the major tests of the Madrid to come. Streets, services and connections are still being drawn there, but the kind of city that will grow in the south-east is also being decided: one designed only for those who can buy at market prices, or one capable of reserving space for young people, families and residents who want to stay without living on the edge every month.