The Torrevieja Municipal Socialist Group has called on the Valencian regional government to amend the Plan VIVE housing decree, warning that current rules allow higher-income earners to benefit from public housing and risk repeating recent allocation controversies seen in Alicante.
Speaking at a press conference, Socialist spokesperson Bárbara Soler criticised the Consell decree of 10 December 2024 regulating access to Plan VIVE homes, arguing that the problem lies not only in how properties are allocated, but in who is eligible to apply.
Soler highlighted that the regulation raises the income threshold to 6.5 times the IPREM (in 14 payments), meaning applicants earning up to €54,000 a year — or even €66,000 in some cases — can qualify. She said these figures bear little relation to the financial reality of most Torrevieja residents who are currently unable to access housing.
She also warned about the lack of permanent protection for Plan VIVE properties. Under the current model, homes built on public land and supported by public funding can later be reclassified and sold on the open market.
“This opens the door to speculation,” Soler said. “Buying cheaply with public money to sell expensively in the future is not housing policy — it’s business.”
The Socialist Group argues that this approach leads to the loss of public land and worsens Torrevieja’s structural housing problem rather than solving it.
As a result, the PSPV-PSOE in Torrevieja is demanding changes to the decree to lower income limits, ensure protected homes go to those who genuinely need them, and introduce permanent protection status for these properties.
Soler concluded that only by reforming the rules can public land and resources be used for their intended social purpose, rather than benefiting a privileged few.
