The Government lowers the minimum wage threshold for access to temporary housing aid

The Government has approved Decree 415/2026, of October 21, 2026, which approves a new Regulation for the Temporary Aid Program to promote affordable housing. The regulation, published in the Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra (BOPA) no. 122, of October 28, 2026, lowers the minimum economic threshold: it becomes one minimum wage instead of 1.2 times the minimum wage. The text repeals Decree 359/2026, of September 16, 2026, and enters into force on November 1, 2026, the date from which applications may be submitted.

A lower income requirement

According to the statement of reasons, the objective is to guarantee identical treatment for all persons who prove fifteen years of residence and a minimum income, and to configure this aid as preferential with respect to the rental housing aid of the Social and Sociosanitary Services Portfolio. Only if the application is resolved unfavorably can the rental aid from the Portfolio be requested.

Article 3 establishes that all adults in the cohabitation unit must carry out a professional activity, whether self-employed or for others, and receive, at a minimum, the current national minimum wage. The following are exempt:

• Sons and daughters pursuing higher education.
• Persons in a situation of temporary disability due to illness or accident.
• Those caring for dependent persons in a manner incompatible with employment.
• Retired persons and pensioners of widowhood or disability without the capacity to work.

Thresholds, amounts, and modalities

The Program allows two modalities, rent and mortgage, with common limits: maximum income of 3.5 times the gross annual minimum wage of the previous twelve months and assets that do not exceed ten times the annual minimum wage. In the rental modality, the required effort percentage increases with income:

• Up to 1.5 times the minimum wage: 30%.
• More than 1.5 and up to 2 times: 31.5%.
• More than 2 and up to 2.5 times: 33%.
• More than 2.5 and up to 3 times: 34.5%.
• More than 3 and up to 3.5 times: 36%.

In the case of a mortgage, the amortization installment must exceed 40% of the cohabitation unit’s income, and the acquisition price of the home and its annexes cannot exceed 600,000 euros. The amount of the aid is equivalent to the difference between the maximum affordable percentage and the agreed rent, with the cap of the affordable price set for each parish of the public housing stock increased by 20%.

Validity until 1,500 public apartments

The Program is valid from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2030, and, at a minimum, until the Government’s public housing stock reaches 1,500 homes. The duration of each favorable resolution is twelve months, extendable for an equivalent period subject to a prior ex officio verification of compliance with the requirements.

The procedure is also simplified: the application is submitted through the Government’s Electronic Office via a self-responsible declaration, and the first payment of the aid serves as notification of the favorable resolution, without prejudice to the obligation to issue an express resolution. The beneficiary must provide the rent or fee receipt within fifteen days following the payment and communicate any change in situation within one month.

Revocation and transparency

The Ministry of Presidency, Economy, Labor and Housing undertakes the verifications and may review the granted aid. Grounds for revocation include the falsification of conditions, the concealment of requirements, and the failure to comply with any obligation, with the reimbursement of the amounts received plus legal interest. Favorable resolutions are published quarterly in the BOPA with the administrative identification number and the amount, in accordance with Law 33/2021, of December 2, on transparency.

The decree also modifies article 6 of Decree 44/2026, of February 11, 2026, on the structuring of the ministry, and reorganizes the Housing Department into three units: Regulatory Development and Agreements, Programs and Subsidies, and Sanctioning and Procedural. The text is signed by the Head of Government, Xavier Espot Zamora.

For readers, the change is direct: households with lower salaries that until now fell outside the threshold of 1.2 times the minimum wage will be able to apply for the aid starting November 1, although the economic effects will begin on January 1, 2027, or on the date of submission if it is later. It also forces those who already receive the rent aid from the Cartera to choose: the approval of the application entails the automatic waiver of the previous aid.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra (BOPA), no. 122, October 28, 2026, Regulations, p. 1 (official reference: Decree 415/2026).