Tenants of the star housing plan in Madrid pay this tax designed for owners, but a high court ruling invalidated this practice last year in a similar case in Aragon. The OCU and the Madrid PSOE consider these subscriptions illegal.
The Housing Department of the Community of Madrid tells this newspaper, through a spokesperson, that the ruling is not applicable to its Vive Plan because the Supreme Court refers to "officially protected housing (VPO)", a term that they say it doesn't use in this case. They say that the I BI must be paid by the owner of the home, not the tenants who rent it. "What worries the Alcorcón City Council is that the law is complied with and defends some neighbors to whom the community wants to pass on a payment that does not correspond to them," says Testa. The OCU says the impact of the IBI in Madrid "must be considered illegal." The Supreme Court does not refer to that rule and bases its ruling on that other state law, the Urban Leases Law. Sources from Culmia, one of the first awarded companies, respond that they are unaware of the ruling and that this transfer of IBI payment is contemplated in the specifications designed by the Community. A possible declaration of illegality could shake Plan Vive, a program that the Government of Isabel Daz Ayuso launched after coming to power in 2019. The deadlines to request the first homes opened last year, and in March, the first keys in Alcorcón were handed over to the first tenants. The Government initially announced that she would build 25,000 homes throughout the region in eight years, but for now, she has only awarded 6,500 and some lots put out to bid have remained deserted. The companies assume the entire cost of construction in exchange for exploiting the rents for 50, 65 or 70 years, depending on the case.