Fundación Secretariado Gitano calls for the new State Housing Plan to serve as a basis for eradicating segregated settlements in Spain [editar]
On 9 September, Fundación Secretariado Gitano presented our proposals for the 2026-2030 State Housing Plan, which is expected to be approved in December. In these proposals, we call for a political mandate to put an end to an unacceptable reality: slum and substandard housing.
‘Public officials and the media have been talking about the housing problem in Spain and Europe for months, but there is no mention of slums, an invisible reality that represents the ultimate expression of socio-residential exclusion and the violation of rights,’ explains Sara Giménez, director general of Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG). ‘This Housing Plan must lay the foundations for the eradication of slums, and this requires greater political will.’
At the FSG, we are aware that although access to housing is a significant problem affecting a large part of the Spanish population, the impact of homelessness is felt most acutely among the most vulnerable people, including those in financial difficulty, those who are socially excluded or at risk of being so, and those who suffer discrimination in access to housing because of their ethnic origin, such as the Roma.
‘The new Plan cannot be limited to promoting rental or renovation assistance. It must take on the eradication of slums as a state objective, with indicators and monitoring mechanisms,’ explains Sara Giménez, director general of FSG.
The reality of slums
According to the latest data, it is estimated that in Spain 77% of people living in settlements, the vast majority, are Roma, around 18 000, half of whom are under 16 years of age and of these, 40% are under 6 years of age. In other words, Roma children still live in segregated areas, in degrading and undignified conditions, where human rights are violated: the material conditions of the dwellings are extremely precarious: for example, 75% of slums lack running water or sanitation.
Furthermore, slum and substandard housing have an impact on access to other human rights: health, employment, education, etc. Spatial segregation has a negative impact on people's lives, as this physical isolation makes it difficult to exercise citizenship and almost always leads to social stigmatisation.
The 2026-2029 State Housing Plan
We welcome the fact that the future Plan includes specific measures aimed at eradicating slum and substandard housing, but we also point out that it is insufficient. ‘The Plan needs to include a more consistent political mandate, because a country like Spain cannot afford to have segregated settlements,’ in the words of Sara Giménez. ‘The possibility of investing in the eradication of slums was already included in previous Plans. We must go further and consider possible conditions for receiving funds from the Plan. Make them conditional and incentivise investment to eradicate segregated settlements.’
To this end, we propose, among other things, a substantial increase in state co-financing for eligible actions aimed at eliminating settlements, and we ask that the resources allocated to this objective not be counted as part of the State Housing Plan budget.
Furthermore, we propose introducing a criterion of progressivity in measures aimed at people in financial difficulty, so that priority is given to those with the lowest incomes, primarily vulnerable people living in setlements and/or who have been rehoused, families suffering from social exclusion, people suffering discrimination on ethnic grounds, and people receiving the Minimum Income.
Finally, expand and adapt rental assistance for low-income individuals or victims of ethnic discrimination, including the provision of public guarantees.
In this context, Sara Giménez has called for the eradication of slum housing to be made a priority: ‘We need the political will of public officials, but also the support and empathy of the media and society as a whole. This is not a marginal issue; it affects us all as a society.’
