The Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has announced measures to help certain sectors of the community with their mortgage repayments during the next two years. It is estimated that around 500,000 people will benefit from the measure.
The beneficiaries under the scheme are:
- The unemployed, with families, who are receiving or who are entitled to state benefits.
- Self-employed who are forced to close down their business or whose profits decrease by more than three times the IPREM.
- Pensioners with family obligations.
The mortgage in question must not exceed €170,000 in all cases.
The state will, as from January 2009, pay half of the mortgages, up to an amount of €500 per month, of those eligible, for a period of two years. In 2011, the recipients of such assistance will be required to start repaying the money over a maximum period of ten years.