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Stage 1 of 5: Check whether you qualify

Requirements to apply for protected housing (VPO), region by region

9 min read · basic level · reviewed on 6 October 2026

What are the requirements to apply for protected housing (VPO) in each region of Spain?

Four requirements repeat across Spain: not owning another home, income below a cap that each region sets as a multiple of the IPREM (a state income index), being on its applicant register, and living or being registered as a resident where the homes are offered. The numbers change by region: under the general regime, from €37,800 to €54,600 for a single person.

The four requirements that repeat across Spain

  • Not owning another home. Neither as owner nor with a right to use one, anywhere in Spain under most rules. There are set exceptions: a home you cannot live in, one that has become too small, or one that is not accessible. Castilla y León lists them and requires you to sell or rent out the previous home within a year.
  • Income below the cap. Each region sets it as a number of times the IPREM (the state income index used to set the caps: €8,400 in 2026, in 14 payments); Catalunya uses the IRSC, its own equivalent. They look at the income of the whole household (unidad de convivencia) in the latest income tax return. Some regions also require a minimum income to buy.
  • Being on the applicant register (registro de demandantes). You need it to enter a draw (sorteo), and you must have it before the application period opens. Registration expires after 2, 3 or 4 years depending on the region.
  • Living there or being registered as a resident at the town hall (empadronamiento). In the region, in the town or in both. It is the requirement that varies most and the one most people find out about too late.

The five general requirements are explained one by one on the requirements page. Here is what changes from one region to another, with the source of each figure.

The table: what each region asks in 2026

Cap on gross annual income under the general regime (régimen general) for a single person (with more members it goes up where the region weights by household size), the register to join and how long registration lasts, and the specific conditions we have read in the norm or on the official portal. The income calculator gives you your exact cap by household size and regime.

Requirements by region (comunidad autónoma). Income: general regime, one person, 2026 IPREM of €8,400. Date in brackets: when we last read the source.

Andalucía

Income cap (1 person)
€46,200 (5.5 × IPREM). Special regime 3 ×; limited price 7 ×
Register and validity
Municipal applicant register, 2 years under Ley 5/2025 (art. 62.4, since 24 January 2026), though many bylaws still say 3; if you do not renew, it is cancelled and you lose your seniority (6 October 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Registration in the register of the town where you want to live. Priority for young people, older people, people with disabilities, single-parent families and victims of gender violence, under the housing plan (15 September 2026). Decreto-ley 1/2025

Aragón

Income cap (1 person)
€37,800 (4.5 ×). Special 2.5 ×; price-assessed (tasado) 6.5 ×. Minimum 1 × IPREM
Register and validity
Registro de Solicitantes, 3 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
The duty to be registered is suspended, but the register still exists. Decreto 60/2009, art. 15

Asturias

Income cap (1 person)
Not verified on this site
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Official portal: weighted tables approved every year

Canarias

Income cap (1 person)
€42,000 (5 ×, net computable income)
Register and validity
Registro Público de Demandantes; validity not verified
Conditions set by the norm
A single cap for every regime

Cantabria

Income cap (1 person)
€37,800 (4.5 ×). Special 2.5 ×; regional (autonómico) 6.5 ×
Register and validity
Registro de Demandantes; validity not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Weighted income

Castilla y León

Income cap (1 person)
€54,600 (6.5 ×, adjusted). Public developments 5 ×. Minimum to buy: 1 × IPREM
Register and validity
Registro Público de Demandantes, 3 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Not owning another home in Spain; under the exceptions (over 65, reduced mobility, a growing family) you must sell or rent out the previous one within a year. Checked when the contract is approved (visado) (15 September 2026). Ley 10/2013

Castilla-La Mancha

Income cap (1 person)
Not verified on this site
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Official portal

Catalunya

Income cap (1 person)
€64,148 in Barcelona and ADFA towns (5 × IRSC, weighted); €70,563 elsewhere (5.5 ×)
Register and validity
Registre de Sol·licitants, 2 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Registered as a resident in a town in Catalunya, a need for housing and meeting the income limit; the requirements must be met for the whole time the registration is valid (15 September 2026). Decret llei 2/2025

Ceuta y Melilla

Income cap (1 person)
Not verified on this site
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Ceuta and Melilla: official portals

Comunitat Valenciana

Income cap (1 person)
€54,600 (6.5 ×) plus 0.5 × for each young person aged 18 to 35, and other increases
Register and validity
Registro de Demanda de Vivienda, 2 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
The increases for disability, children, people over 65 and young people add up. Decreto 180/2024, art. 42

Euskadi

Income cap (1 person)
Between €9,000 and €59,568.32 weighted, to buy, every regime
Register and validity
Etxebide, 2 years; each file has its own date (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Three years of residence in Euskadi, and priority for people living in the town, in the Elciego 2026 call for applications (6 September 2026)

Extremadura

Income cap (1 person)
€46,200 (5.5 ×). Special 4.5 ×; middle (media) 7.5 ×. Minimum 1 × IPREM
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Weighted income. Registered as a resident in the town you apply for (24 September 2026). Decreto 164/2024

Galicia

Income cap (1 person)
€46,200 (5.5 ×, weighted by members: it goes up with each one). Minimum to buy 0.7 × IPREM
Register and validity
Rexistro Único de Demandantes, 3 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Coefficients by family size. Agreement of the Consello, DOG 90 of 18 May 2026

Illes Balears

Income cap (1 person)
€54,600 (6.5 ×, weighted)
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Agreement of the Consell de Govern of 21 November 2022

La Rioja

Income cap (1 person)
€50,400 (6 ×, private developments). Public developments 2.5 ×
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Decreto 33/2013

Madrid

Income cap (1 person)
€46,200 VPPB (5.5 ×); €63,000 VPPL (7.5 ×)
Register and validity
Regional register; the City of Madrid's register (RPSV) lasts 4 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Being Spanish or resident in Spain; nobody in the family unit may own another home in Spain, except for the exceptions in art. 3.3.3. Checked at allocation (15 September 2026). Decreto 74/2009

Murcia

Income cap (1 person)
€72,800 (6.5 × on weighted income: × 0.75 up to 3 people, × 0.70 from 4). Special 5.5 × since Decreto-ley 3/2026. Minimum 1 × IPREM
Register and validity
Not verified
Conditions set by the norm
Applicant register for private developments (CARM)

Navarra

Income cap (1 person)
Not modelled on this site
Register and validity
Censo de solicitantes (applicant census), 2 years (8 September 2026)
Conditions set by the norm
Be on the census before the deadline. The 2026 process sets minimum incomes: €5,000 to rent, €19,000 to buy a VPO (Government of Navarra note, 1 September 2026)

Where it really changes: residence, minimums and quotas

Residence. Madrid asks you to be Spanish or resident in Spain, with no minimum number of years. Catalunya requires registration as a resident in a Catalan town to join its register. Euskadi asked for three years of residence in the Elciego call for applications (convocatoria), and Alcorcón requires the whole family unit to be registered as residents in the town for its register. Read it in the rules (bases) of each call: it is what sinks the most applications.

Minimum income. Aragón, Castilla y León and Galicia require a floor to buy (1 × IPREM in the first two, 0.7 × in Galicia), and Extremadura asks for 1 × IPREM to join its register. Navarra introduced one in 2026 for renting too. The idea is that you can pay the mortgage instalment or the rent; if you fall below the minimum, you cannot apply either.

Quotas. Almost every call reserves homes for young people, older people, people with disabilities, large or single-parent families and victims of gender violence. Fitting a quota is not a requirement, it is an advantage: you compete in a smaller group. You must prove it within the deadline; nobody applies it for you. How the homes are shared out is in the guide to the draw step by step.

When the requirements are checked

Not always at the same moment. Madrid checks them at allocation (adjudicación). Castilla y León, when the purchase or rental contract is submitted for approval (visado). Catalunya, when you register and for as long as the registration is valid. In practice you will be asked twice: when you register and again before signing, and a change in your income or housing in between can leave you out.

Work out my income cap

Region, people at home and income: the cap for each regime, with the norm it comes from, no sign-up needed.

Work out my income cap

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a VPO in a region where I do not live?

It depends on the region and the call. Madrid only asks you to live in Spain; Catalunya requires registration as a resident in a Catalan town to join the register; Euskadi asked for three years of residence in its Elciego call. Casa47, the state rental housing stock, does not depend on the regional register.

Are the requirements the same to buy and to rent?

Almost. The income cap is usually the same, but the minimum income appears mainly for buying (Aragón, Castilla y León, Galicia), and in 2026 Navarra also applies it to renting. The ban on owning another home and the register apply to both.

What if I have an inherited home in another province?

Under most rules it counts as owning a home, unless you fit an exception: you cannot live in it, you own an undivided share, it is more than 50 kilometres from your work, or it is not suitable. Castilla y León lists them on its requirements page; each region has its own.

How long does registration on the register last?

Two years in Catalunya, the Comunitat Valenciana, Navarra and Euskadi; three in Aragón, Castilla y León and Galicia; four on the Madrid City Council register. In Andalucía Ley 5/2025 requires renewal every two years since January 2026, though many municipal bylaws still say three: count two. If it expires, in Andalucía you lose your seniority. The [register guide](/guias/registro-de-demandantes) explains how to renew.

My partner owns a home. Can I apply for a VPO?

Almost always not, if you are going to form the same household: the rule against owning another home is checked for everyone listed on the application, not only the person who signs. There are set exceptions (a home unsuitable because of a disability, in ruins, or one you cannot use because of a court ruling), and someone who lives alone and appears alone on the application does not carry their partner's property if the partner is not going to live in the home. It is the point that sinks the most applications in the later checks, so ask your register before you sign up.

I am getting married this year and my partner owns a home. Do I lose the VPO I was already allocated?

What is checked is your situation on the dates set by the rules: when you apply, at allocation and, in many calls, again before signing. A change after signing does not usually cancel the allocation, but a change in between can, and hiding it is a reason for exclusion. Tell the allocating body in writing and ask them to confirm in writing how it affects you.

I have inherited a flat. Does that rule me out?

Inheriting a home makes you an owner, so in general it does count, even if it is an undivided share or you cannot sell it. Some regional rules allow exceptions when the inherited share is small or the home is neither suitable nor available. If you have already been allocated a VPO, tell the register: it is the difference between an incident and a cancellation.

Can I apply for a VPO with an NIE or as a foreigner?

Yes. What the rules require is legal residence in Spain and, almost always, registration as a resident (empadronamiento) in the town or region for a number of years that varies a lot from one call to another. Nationality is not a requirement. Each register asks for documents in its own language and format, so check the document list of your call.

I live with my parents: does their income count?

Only if they are going to be part of the household that moves into the home. If you apply alone and move alone, only your income is looked at. If you live with them and all of you are on the application, all the incomes are added up and the cap also goes up, because the weighting by number of members works in your favour.

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Official sources

General guidance, not legal advice. The rules that apply are your region's and those on the home's own qualification.

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