Rental subsidy and the emancipation of young adults in Spain

Abstract

The high rates of unemployment, the precarious labour market and the limited affordability of homeownership have increased delayed housing emancipation among European young adults (aged 18–29 years). As a consequence, many of them have become more dependent on their parents and the creation of new households has slowed down. These features are particularly evident in Spain, where young adults start living away from their parental home on average when they are 30, a trend that has been aggravated by the economic crisis. In 2007, the Spanish Government addressed this issue by implementing the Renta Básica de Emancipación (RBE) to support young adults' transitions to adulthood by increasing the rental housing market offer and by making the rental expenditure more affordable for them, despite their employment instability. This review examines how the RBE was implemented between 2007 and 2012 and its impacts on young adults' emancipation and the private rented sector in Spain.