Madrid City Council has announced the upcoming tender for ten municipal plots located in Vicálvaro, intended for the construction of 1,017 affordable rental homes. An innovative feature of this project is the rental-with-purchase-option model, which will allow tenants to acquire ownership after seven years of renting. The Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS) will manage this tender in the coming months as part of the Southern Strategy.

Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida presented this initiative, highlighting that it will be the first time the City Council combines these two housing access models in a single development. The Department of Urbanism, Environment, and Mobility, led by Borja Carabante, will organize the tender into four lots comprising the ten municipal plots, which will be submitted for approval by the Governing Board before publication.

A key measure of the project is the reservation of 50% of the homes for individuals under 35 years old, aiming to facilitate access for young Madrileños to the real estate market. The City Council will allocate 70,410 square meters of municipal land to ensure a stable and affordable housing supply.

Rental and sale prices will be set 31% below current market values. The estimated monthly rent for a typical 90-square-meter home is 949.5 euros, significantly lower than the average in Madrid's private sector.

The model allows rental payments to contribute towards the purchase. After seven years of renting, tenants will have the option to buy the home for 3,600 euros per square meter. Monthly payments made during the rental period will be deducted from the final purchase price, acting as a form of forced savings. For a standard 90 m² home, the tenant would have contributed approximately 80,000 euros by the end of the rental period.

Martínez-Almeida stated that this formula moves "in the right direction" by providing security to residents and the possibility of purchasing their home, "not always being a renter, but also having the possibility to buy their home".

The ten plots, with a cadastral value of 82 million euros, are divided into three lots in Los Berrocales (four plots for 280 homes; two plots for 241; and another two plots for 223) and a fourth lot in Los Ahijones (two plots for 273 homes). These developments aim to increase the housing supply and consolidate urban growth in the southeastern part of Madrid.