UN expert weighs into Spain's property price debate

Miloon Kothari, the UN special rapporteur for human rights on adequate housing, has added his voice to criticism of high house prices in Spain. During a visit to Barcelona, Kothari referred to 'unacceptable' housing conditions in Spain and said other European countries are experiencing the same situation.

He called on the Spanish government to take immediate steps to address the problem of potential house buyers being priced out of the market. The UN expert noted that a fundamental right to adequate housing is guaranteed not only in Spain's Constitution, but also in the Human Rights Declaration as well as in other international conventions agreed by Spain. Kothari is analyzing Spanish real estate market and will present a report next Friday, which is later to be used for a UN presentation at the Human Rights Council.

Kothari's comments echo sentiments expressed by Spain's second vice president and economics minister Pedro Solbes during the Ecofin meeting this week.

He said he would like Spain to become 'a normal country one day' with regards to real estate prices. During a break in the meeting, Solbes told journalists that 'this is reasonable to expect in any logic country' and that 'nobody expects the last years increases to be sustainable'.