Housing in the time of Covid-19: ¿New social vulnerabilities? From initial impact tp future challenges

Abstract

The entry into force of Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, declaring the state of alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, as well as its successive extensions, has obliged the public authorities to adopt a series of exceptional measures both in the health field and, by derivation, in other spheres -economic, legal, labour, social or security-, the housing sector also being affected. Even before suffering this pandemic, we were in a general context of housing emergency that required urgent and transversal actions by the different competent administrations in order to increase the supply of social and affordable housing, due to the growing economic and social vulnerability. This situation has worsened as a result of circumstances due to the coronavirus, which has led to the launch of specific measures for the housing market, especially rental housing, in order to contribute to the maintenance of the homes of those families that, a priori, were not part of vulnerable groups.