Helping keep families at risk off the streets

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH: A PLAN to help some of the thousands of people at risk of losing their homes and being thrown onto the streets has been drawn up.

The council in Cieza, Murcia,  has decided to take steps to ‘guarantee citizens’ rights to housing’.

Councillors also decided that water, electricity and gas supplies were a basic need which all citizens must have access to. Now the council will establish regulations to guarantee access to the basics for families in need.

A motion passed at the December plenary session included the creation of a Municipal Home Project to develop and regulate measures to cover emergency housing requirements.

Lists of people at risk of eviction will be produced to guarantee their basic needs are covered and a register will be drawn up of empty properties repossessed by banks and financial entities to be used as temporary housing. 

The council has promised to ask judges to suspend eviction orders for homes where mortgage repay-ments are in arrears and create a public housing estate to re-house evictees at minimum rent. 

Municipal legal advice services will collaborate with evictees to provide adequate protection against loss of homes. In addition, projects to halt evictions of families with children and protocol revisions for Social Services were also approved.