The Generalitat proposes buying part of your flat if you are over 40

Are you over 40 and struggling with your mortgage? The Generalitat wants to make sure you’re not left out of the property market and has put forward a proposal that breaks the mould: the Govern is offering to buy your home with you if you can’t afford it on your own. Salvador Illa announced this measure during the general policy debate, backing a scheme that no one has tried in Catalonia until now.

The idea is as simple as it is revolutionary: the Generalitat becomes a co-owner of your flat. If you’re between 40 and 55 and have a stable income, but not enough for a mortgage, you can apply for joint purchase. The Govern would take on half the ownership and you could live as an owner for 50 years. For those over 56, the Generalitat would cover 60% and the term would be 40 years. At the end of that period, the flat would return to the public housing stock, although if you decide to sell earlier, the Generalitat would have first refusal to buy it back and keep it protected. However, the right to sell or leave the flat as an inheritance remains.

Who can apply and how much money is available?

The measure is aimed at people over 40 who can’t get a traditional mortgage but do have a stable income. The Govern will allocate 100 million euros to this programme, with the possibility of increasing it if demand requires. Illa has made it clear he wants to negotiate the details with parliamentary groups, but the intention is to get it up and running without waiting endlessly for impossible consensus.

A fund to prevent evictions and more help for young people

Illa’s plan doesn’t stop there. A fund of 25 million euros will also be created to prevent evictions of people in extreme vulnerability. This fund will allow the Generalitat to buy the flat where a vulnerable family lives and manage the rent so they can stay in their home.

For young people aged 18 to 40 looking to move out, the Govern will expand loans for buying a first flat. Now, up to 20% of the purchase of the right of use or bare ownership of a permanent protected home can be financed, as well as 20% of the works needed to obtain the certificate of occupancy. In the past year, more than 1,800 loans have benefited over 2,700 people.

A little-used legal formula

Joint home purchase is included in the Catalan Civil Code, but until now no one had put it into practice. The Govern wants to make use of this legal route to help those caught between being unable to get a mortgage and the lack of real alternatives on the market.

And what about traditional owners?

While the Generalitat makes its move, flat owners don’t always welcome new decrees and regulations. Tensions between private interests and public policies remain, as seen on other occasions. The city, however, continues to look for ways to ensure no one is left behind. And amid these debates, personal stories like that of Paula Miras, who shared her experience on a podcast about grief and hope in Barcelona, remind us that behind every measure there are real lives.

Illa’s move marks a bold shift in Catalan housing policy. Backing joint purchase and strengthening anti-eviction funds is a clear sign that the Govern is looking for imaginative and direct solutions to a problem affecting thousands of people in Barcelona. If the measure takes hold and is managed efficiently, it could open up a realistic path for those who until now have only found closed doors in the property market.